Ace Observations
by Talespinner69
Summary: The Ace siblings have no idea what to make of it when the Loud sisters are responsible for putting Lincoln in the hospital. Set during the events of/based off of That Engineer's 'Syngenesophobia'. All credit for his story goes to him.
1. Chapter 1

Pre-chapter Author's note: This is a Loud House story that I'm writing. Nothing new about that. This is going to be a story that primarily features my OCs the Ace siblings, as well as a few others such as Ulfric, Mitzie, Kara and even Trixie. Again, nothing new. But what _is_ new is that this is going to be a story based off of _another_ story that is up on this site; in this case, 'Syngenesophobia' by That Engineer. Before anyone tries to give me any flak, let me just say this; 'Syngenesophobia' is That Engineer's story, not mine. In fact, I wouldn't even be writing this story if it wasn't for the fact that That Engineer is a creative and brilliant writer whose works can inspire others. Full credit for his story should go to him. Thank you for writing some of the absolute finest stories that I have ever read in my entire life, That Engineer. Keep on trucking.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter one: A peaceful enough night that leads to a troubling morning

It was a peaceful enough late evening over at the Ace family residence located in Royal Woods, Michigan. Ashe, the matriarch of the family, was in the kitchen preparing dinner for herself and her children. The Ace matriarch was even singing a little song to herself as she went about her business in preparing the fish. "Dig vill vi giva en kungason till man," Ashe sang to herself as she was lightly adding spice to the fish, "Som haver mera guld an lille Roland ha-"

Ashe was cut off when a large, and I do mean large, dog came running into the kitchen randomly; this dog was covered in mostly dark fur, save for the light brownish fur that covered its belly, front of its neck and the bottom of its muzzle. Startled somewhat, Ashe turned to face this large dog, and saw that it, along with a Red Fox and a Skunk, of all things, were all turning around in circles, as if they were excited for something.

Running into the kitchen was Anna, Ashe's youngest child at six years of age. Anna had fair skin and brown hair that was long enough to keep in twin pigtails, although they weren't all that long. Anna wore a long-sleeved light purple shirt with a white kitty face in approximately the center, a purple skirt that reached her knees, a pair of ankle socks the same shade of purple as her shirt, and a yellow hat that is exactly like the hats that are worn by young Japanese schoolchildren.

"Fenrir, Kyubi, Spirit, come on!" Anna said to the animals in a mildly bemused tone, "Mommy's trying to make dinner, and you guys bothering her isn't going to help!"

"They probably smelled the food I was preparing and came rushing in," Ashe said to her young daughter. Stealing a glance at the three animals, Ashe continued, "Besides, your older siblings always take their pets for walks before dinner."

Anna nodded in agreement with her mother, then turned around and left the kitchen. When Anna had left, Ashe returned to the matter of making the pets leave. Fortunately, this was solved when Ashe's three oldest children, Allison, Aggro and Amy, walked into the kitchen. Allison and Aggro are twin seventeen-year-olds, whereas Amy is only fifteen.

Allison, technically the oldest since she was born a few minutes before Aggro, had fair skin and yellow-blonde hair that was long enough to keep in twin pigtails that trailed down her back. Allison wore a dark green and somewhat baggy t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a brownish leather coat that was tied around her waist, and a red Sherpa hat with tassels hanging from the ear flaps. There was also a white square cloth bandage over the bridge of Allison's nose, but one got the feeling from looking at the female Ace twin that said bandage was there for reasons of trying to go for a certain look; Allison wasn't really nursing any sort of injury.

Aggro, the younger twin brother of Allison, was as tall as his twin, and possessed the same skin tone. Although also blonde, same as Allison, Aggro's hair was of a somewhat paler shade; additionally, Aggro's hair was bound in a single men's ponytail that trailed down his back, save for the bangs which he allowed to frame his face. Aggro wore a light gray long-sleeved shirt (the sleeve ends hung loosely about the wrists, not cling tightly to them) under a seafoam green men's tank top, a pair of light gray somewhat baggy pair of cargo pants held up with a belt, and a haori long coat the same shade of green as his men's tank top. Aggro also had a pair of white studio headphones, with black circles on the outer side of the earpads, resting around his neck; cords came from both earpads, trailed down until they joined and became a single cord, then said cord disappeared into Aggro's front right pocket.

Amy, the youngest of the group, had skin that seemed to be a pale shade of light gray. Amy had jet black hair that covered her right eye, although her left eye, which was a vibrant and piercing shade of burgundy, was exposed. The rest of Amy's hair was bound in a braided ponytail that trailed down her back. Amy wore a black sleeveless blouse, a black skirt that reached her knees (going about half an inch past her knees, actually), black and white-striped arm warmers and black and white-striped stockings. As soon as Allison, Aggro and Amy walked into the kitchen, the animals all turned around, having sensed someone enter; the large and powerful-looking dog was the first to go to the three oldest Ace siblings, making a beeline for Allison. The fox and the skunk were very quick to follow, with the fox going to Aggro and the skunk going to Amy.

"I understand that you have a warrior's appetite, Fenrir," Allison said in a mildly amused tone as she ruffled the top of the dog's head, "But dinner won't be for a while yet. Also, mom is preparing food for us humans." Giving her dog a knowing look, Allison asked, "You didn't think she was making all that fish just for you, did you?" The mildly confused sounding woof that came from Fenrir was all the answer the female Ace twin needed.

"Yeah, we ought to take them for walks before dinner," Aggro said to his sisters as his pet fox was gently swiping at his right pants leg with a paw.

"You know, I've noticed how some of the people in the neighborhood have given me odd looks whenever I'm out with Fenrir," Allison said.

Amy, while holding her pet skunk, said to her older sister with a hint of knowing in her tone, "Well many people expect seventeen-year-old girls to spring for something like a Chihuahua or a Corgi, not a Tibetan Mastiff like Fenrir. Of course, you'd be turning a few heads while you're out and about walking a large dog that can tackle a grown man to the ground."

"But then again," Aggro remarked, "A large dog like Fenrir is one of the reasons why Allison has never been bothered by guys that would have certain ideas with her."

Realizing what her brother was getting at, Allison declared in a firm tone, "If any man would try business like that with me, I would send him straight to Loki's daughter!"

"I said _one of_ the reasons," Aggro pointed out. The male Ace twin could not help but find some amusement in his older twin sister's declaration; with her strength, willpower and ferocity, Allison is very much reminiscent of the Vikings that were deep in the Ace sibling's Swedish heritage. And woe to any guy who thinks to try and get lucky with Allison.

"Well then, you two," Amy said as she proceeded to walk over to the front door, "We shouldn't keep Spirit and the others waiting for their walk." The Ace twins both nodded in agreement, then led their respective pets out of the kitchen as they walked behind Amy on their way to the front door so that they may take their pets for walks.

* * *

Later that evening after dinner, the Aces were settling down and relaxing. Allison was watching something on the TV in the living room while Astrid, the eleven-year-old sister of Allison and the others, sat on the end of the sofa opposite of Allison.

Fair-skinned like the rest of her siblings, Astrid had long hair that reached about halfway down her shoulder blades. Her hair was also completely white in color. Astrid was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse that looked like what Japanese schoolgirls would wear as part of their uniforms; this blouse also had an orange sailor-style collar, and an orange ribbon was worn around the neck. Astrid's outfit was completed by the dark bluish skirt that reached her knees.

During a commercial break for the show she was watching, Allison turned to regard her eleven-year-old younger sister; the white-haired girl was fully invested in the hand-held video game system she had in her hands. "…That is an interesting game, I take it?" Allison asked, getting Astrid's attention in the process.

Pausing her game before turning to regard her older sister, Astrid said, "Yeah, it's a game that me and a few friends of mine at school have all been dying to get. In fact, Ronnie Anne also got the game as well, and from what she's been telling me, she's been at it nonstop."

"Ronnie Anne?" Allison repeated in a confused tone.

"You know," Astrid replied, "Ronnie Anne Santiago? She's my friend? She's the younger sister of Aggro's friend Bobby?"

"Ah yes," Allison remarked, having realized part of what her younger sister was getting at, "I am familiar with Bobby. A solid and dependable friend from what Aggro says about him. However, I mainly only know Bobby as Lori Loud's champion."

"I…see," Astrid replied before turning her attention back to her video game. The two sisters sat like that on the sofa until the show Allison was watching ended; at exactly the same time the show ended (Allison would later go on to comment about the timing), Aggro walked into the house, having gone somewhere after he and the rest of the Aces finished dinner. The male Ace twin was also carrying a small plastic shopping bag that looked like it came from a convenience store of some sort.

Holding up the shopping bag, Aggro said, "Hey Astrid, can you go get Anna for me? I got something for the both of you."

…

If one cannot tell, the Ace siblings are all mixed-heritage. There is Swedish, Japanese and Native American ancestry among the total eight siblings. However, the Ace siblings all tend to lean towards one specific aspect of their heritage, with Aggro, Astrid and Anna all leaning towards their Japanese side. As such, the three of them tend to interact with each other more than they do with their other siblings.

Thus, it was not uncommon for Aggro to spring for small treats to share with Astrid and Anna, while making sure to take into consideration some unspecified illness Astrid has that makes it so that she can't have too much sugar at once, or too much sugar in general. The treats were eaten, and afterwards Aggro got a pot of water set on the stove for tea; although his younger sisters would use coffee mugs for their tea, as they usually do, Aggro opted for his _yunomi_ tea cup.

"So, girls," Aggro began in a friendly and conversational tone, "How's school going for you?"

"You know who Lincoln Loud is, right?" Astrid replied.

After giving Astrid's question a bit of thought, Aggro said, "I know that he is the younger brother of Allison's friend Lori, and that he has white hair similar to you." With a gentle shake of his head, Aggro continued, "But I'm afraid that I do not know him beyond that."

"Well, here's the thing," Astrid went on, "Lincoln has a friend that I…umm…Well, you see…" As the blushing on Astrid's face started to appear, Aggro could tell full well what was going on; his little sister had a crush on the boy that she was talking about.

"So…" Aggro prodded in a mildly amused tone, "…What is this friend of Lincoln's like?"

A hint of embarrassment appearing in her expression, Astrid began, "Well, umm, he's a dark-skinned boy who wears glasses. Ronnie Anne told me that his name is Clyde McBride." Poking the tips of her index fingers together in a manner that further conveyed her nervousness about the subject, Astrid went on, "I, umm, I don't know if there is someone that Clyde already likes, so I don't know if I should try and, umm, well, tell him how I feel."

"I see," Aggro replied, knowing what his little sister was trying to get at. Once the water in the pot on the stove got hot enough, Aggro poured it into the two coffee mugs and one _yunomi_ tea cup, put tea bags in all of them, then brought them over to the table. Aggro handed one mug each to his younger sisters while placing the _yunomi_ tea cup at his own place. "Let the tea cool for a bit," Aggro instructed the younger Ace girls. To Astrid specifically, Aggro said, "Well, Astrid, the best thing I can suggest is to send this Clyde boy a love letter, preferably put it in his locker if he uses it frequently."

"I…I hope that works," Astrid replied, still sounding nervous and mildly unsure of herself.

"It should," Aggro said with a hint of casual confidence in his tone, "Since Clyde is friends with Lori's younger brother, I suspect that the two boys are similar. That being said, I bet that this Clyde boy is a kind and understanding boy, much like Lincoln."

Nodding once in agreement, Astrid replied, "Yeah. Lincoln Loud is a very nice boy. No wonder Ronnie Anne likes him so much."

That last bit that Astrid said caught Aggro's attention; the male Ace twin knew that there was a boy at the K-8 school that Ronnie Anne liked, given that Bobby, Ronnie Anne's older brother, is close friends with Aggro and tells him a lot. But Aggro had no idea that the boy who Ronnie Anne liked is Lincoln, the younger brother of Bobby's girlfriend Lori. Aggro had no doubt that his good friend found a good deal of amusement in this. " _Well isn_ ' _t that an interesting twist_ ," Aggro thought in amusement as he reached for his cup, " _I wonder why Bobby never told me that it was Lincoln_ -"

*Crack*

Aggro stopped, both mid-thought and in the middle of reaching for his cup, when he saw a crack appear along the side of his cup. Both Astrid and Anna noticed how their older brother had suddenly stopped, as if he were a video on pause. "Is something wrong, Aggro-Oniisan?" Anna asked as she observed her older brother.

"…It's nothing," Aggro replied quickly, dismissing his little sister's question quickly. The crack in his _yunomi_ tea cup did not make it unusable, so Aggro still drank his tea from it. Still, the male Ace twin could not shake the feeling that something bad had just occurred.

He knew an omen when he saw one.

* * *

The Ace siblings all went to sleep, and aside from hearing the sound of what sounded like a nightstand smashing into the ground after it was thrown from a bedroom window coming from somewhere in the neighborhood, the Aces were able to sleep soundly. …After Allison's dog Fenrir had stopped barking due to being startled by the aforementioned noise, that is.

The Ace siblings all went about heading off to school, with Alphonse, Astrid, Andy, Argent and Anna heading to the K-8 school, and Allison, Aggro and Amy going to the High School. Additionally, since Allison was going to speak with her friends on the varsity golf team, she brought with her a thin black leather rectangular case that she wore over her back. This case held her four-iron golf club, the only golf club that she owns. The club had a handle that was a faded reddish-brown color.

Similar to Allison's case that held her golf club, Aggro had over his back a cloth carrying case that held his bokken. This bokken was a little over three feet long and made of reddish-brown wood; the end that served as the hilt had a black faux-leather wrapping (the material had red threading). Aggro was intending to go to the park for Kendo practice afterschool.

The three oldest Ace siblings got to the High School well enough, and there was a bit of time before classes, so they decided to walk around for a bit. In their walking through one of the hallways, Allison, Aggro and Amy came across Bobby Santiago, who is close friends with Aggro. To the concern of the Ace siblings, the teen who worked many jobs looked to be dealing with a mix of emotions; disappointment, disgust, sadness, shame.

"Umm…" Aggro began, getting Bobby to turn to face him, "…Good morning?"

Bobby did not reply right away, but rather merely sighed in a resigned tone. "Sorry for looking so out of it, dude," the Hispanic teen said to his mixed-heritage friend, "But…but something that…*sigh* I broke up with Lori last night." That last line from the teen who worked many jobs struck the Ace siblings with the force of a speeding dump truck. None of them, or anyone at RWHS for that matter, would ever believe that Bobby Santiago and Lori Loud would ever end their relationship.

"Did she release you," Allison began in a stern tone of curiosity, her arms folded over her chest, "Or did you end your role as her champion of your own volition?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Bobby replied, his tone carrying a very strong hint of somber weariness.

Sighing in a tone that carried a mix of mild disappointment and firm confusion, Allison went on, "Lori is a close friend of mine, so-"

"You're actually still friends with Lori?!" Bobby snapped, interrupting Allison in the process and surprising the Aces for a second time, "After what she did?! What all of her sisters aside from the baby did?!" Just as quickly as his sudden burst of passion came, Bobby deflated back down to his previous state of depressed somberness.

Allison, Aggro and Amy knew that something was up, and it was Aggro who took the initiative. "Bobby," Aggro began in a concerned tone, getting the Hispanic teen to look up at him. Placing a hand on Bobby's left shoulder in a gesture that conveyed support, Aggro said, "I can tell that you are not feeling great right now. Rest assured that if you need anything, you can just give me a holler, alright?"

With a small and slightly sad but appreciative smile, Bobby said, "Thanks, Aggro. You're a real bro, dude."

"I know," Aggro replied, "But still, I have to ask." With Bobby's full attention, Aggro asked, "I think that this might be a touchy subject, given how you just exploded, but what do you mean by 'what Lori and her sisters aside from the baby did'?"

Once again, Bobby sighed in a resigned tone. "Lori and her sisters," Bobby began, "From what Lori told me last night when I got a text from her, she and her sisters got into a nine-against-one fight with their brother Lincoln, and things…didn't end all that well for the bro."

The Aces did not know what to say; if what Bobby just told them is true, then Lori and eight of her sisters all ganged up on and fought their only brother and had also clearly won the brawl. Pressing Bobby for more information, the Aces learned that Lincoln had apparently been beaten so badly by the combined efforts of Lori and her sisters that were involved that the Loud parents had to collect their only son and take him to the hospital. Bobby also mentioned something about some 'Sister Fight Protocol', but none of the Aces had any idea what that was all about and decided to regard it as a non-factor.

"…You would accuse Lori and her sisters of such dishonor?" Allison said to Bobby, clearly mad that one of her friends was being slandered, and by said friend's ex-boyfriend, no less.

Getting a bit indignant, Bobby said, "I'd show you the texts where Lori told me everything, but I showed the texts to Ronnie Anne last night to help shed some light on why Lincoln didn't contact her, then she got so mad that she took my phone, threw it to the wall hard enough so that my phone smashed on contact, then in that same fit of fury she took her nightstand and chucked it out her bedroom window while screaming that she'd put Lori and her sisters in comas."

Turing around, Allison said, "No way in Hel will I stand around and hear people throw around slander about one of my friends! I'm going to go find Lori to get the truth from her!" Before anyone could stop her, the female Ace twin took her leave.

"Oh, for…" Amy said in a mildly frustrated tone. Turning to go after her older sister, Amy ran off in the direction Allison took off in while calling out, "Allison!"

With the two oldest Ace sisters gone, Aggro turned back to face Bobby. The male Ace twin was shocked to hear that Lori and her sisters would really do such a thing to their only brother. He was especially shocked because Lori's sister Leni had also taken part in the beating that was given to the sole Loud boy; Aggro knew Leni about as well as he knew Lincoln, but from what he was able to gather about her, Leni didn't have a mean bone in her entire body. The fact that Leni had helped with beating her little brother to the point that he needed medical attention was something that Aggro was, admittedly, having some degree of difficulty in wrapping his head around.

But Aggro's confusion on the matter can wait for the time being. Right now, Aggro had a friend who was clearly lost on what to do. Just as Allison went to go see to Lori's needs, Aggro would stay by Bobby's side to give him a shoulder to lean on, as any loyal friend would do.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER ONE

Author's notes:

So yeah, this has been the first chapter, which aligns with the night of the beating and the morning after said beating. The next chapter will see more of what goes on the morning after the beating, although we'll be swinging by the K-8 school, and things are going to be seen (mostly) from Astrid's point of view. I have no idea how well this story will catch on, but there's only one real way to find out, I suppose.

Again, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter two: A surprising victory in the cafeteria

While Aggro Ace was seeing to the needs of his friend Bobby Santiago over at Royal Woods High School, the Ace siblings that were not yet old enough to go to high school, those being Alphonse, Astrid, Andy, Argent and Anna, had just gotten to Royal Woods combined grades school. Specifically, Astrid had just reached her locker. The half-Swedish half-Japanese girl was opening her locker to get out something that she figured she'd be needing, a set of stationary paper that looked like it came from some crafting store or a similar retailer, with said stationary looking like it was made specifically for girls Astrid's age in mind.

The white-haired Ace girl's plan was simple; she'd take a sheet from her set of stationary, write a love letter, fold up the sheet the note was written on, put the name of Lincoln Loud's cute friend Clyde on the cover of said folded sheet of paper, then slip it into Clyde's locker in the hopes that he'll receive it and meet her in the library after classes were done for the day, as the love letter would instruct the bespectacled African American boy. And why wouldn't Astrid go through so much trouble for who was, in her opinion, the cutest boy at the school? Clyde was _way_ better than that creep who continuously tries to flirt with her.

Speaking of said creep…

"Hey, Astrid," a familiar male voice said from Astrid's side as the white-haired Ace girl was looking into her locker. The voice struck Astrid as familiar right away, but not in a way that made her happy she recognized it. Turning around, Astrid came face to face with Chandler, a boy in her grade who thinks the world of himself. He was stuck up, conceited, felt that he was entitled to whatever he wanted when he wanted it…Chandler was the very definition of the kind of boy that girls should _never_ consider as boyfriend material.

The total opposite of Clyde, really.

Standing next to the conceited fifth-grade boy was a seventh-grade girl who Astrid recognized as Chandler's older cousin Kara. Appearance wise, Kara had white hair with pale green shading near the ends, and the hair was tied into twin pigtails, with each pigtail adorned with three fairly large green beads. She wore a white capelet (with green trim) that had a light fur collar, a green long-sleeved blouse, a white frilly skirt, white stockings that reached over her knees, and green shoes. The girl's eyes were also a bright and vibrant shade of emerald green.

"How's it shaking, cutie?" Chandler began in a casual and flirtatious tone; he even winked while pointing both index fingers at Astrid in a manner that clearly conveyed the message that Chandler saw himself as something of a player. Astrid wished that one of her older siblings who goes to the high school was here with her, if only to make Chandler buzz off for her.

Sighing in a tone that carried a hint of annoyance, Astrid asked, "What do you want, Chandler?"

Jerking a thumb at his older cousin, Chandler said, "Believe it or not, Kara here is looking for Larry. I don't suppose you know where to find him, do you?"

The white-haired Ace girl had a look of confusion on her face after hearing Chandler's question. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone named Larry," Astrid replied honestly.

"My cousin is talking about Lincoln," Kara explained as she clarified things for Astrid, "I've seen him hang around with Ronnie Anne, and I know that you and Ronnie Anne are pretty much besties, so I was hoping she might have told you so you can tell me."

"Why are you looking for Lincoln?" Astrid asked, the confusion in her expression going away only to be replaced with curiosity.

In response to Astrid's question, Kara pulled out a hand-held video game system that was folded closed. "On Friday of last week," Kara began, "Lincoln and I had a battle, in which I lost to him. I challenged him to a rematch right after he won, and he agreed on the condition that our rematch waited until today. I spent most of the weekend improving my team rotation in preparation for my rematch with Lincoln, and now I'm ready to return the defeat that he gave me."

Astrid was not all that surprised that Kara was speaking about video games to some extent; unlike most of the other seventh graders at the school (especially a certain sporty girl), Kara had absolutely no interest in sports whatsoever, much preferring to spend her time reading manga, watching anime and playing video games. In a way, Kara is basically what Lincoln would be if Lincoln were a thirteen-year-old girl.

Astrid was also not all that surprised to see that Kara was looking to play with Lincoln; if the school were divided into two separate schools where sixth through eighth grades was a middle school and everything fifth grade and below was an elementary school, then Kara would be a middle schooler whose only actual friends were all elementary schoolers. In fact, Lincoln was one of Kara's friends, someone whose interest in video games aligned with her own. The sole Loud boy was the opponent that Kara had been looking for, a sort of rival whose skills at video games pushed Kara to improve her own skills. Kara had beaten Lincoln about as often as Lincoln had beaten her, although their last bout had apparently ended in Lincoln's favor.

Hence why Kara spent most of the previous weekend trying to get ready for a rematch against the white-haired boy.

"I'm not sure if Ronnie Anne knows exactly where to find Lincoln," Astrid remarked in an apologetic tone with a gentle shake of her head, "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

"I've never known Lincoln to try and back down from a challenge that I gave him," Kara remarked, "So the fact that he hasn't sought me out yet so we can have our rematch kind of strikes me as odd."

"Maybe Larry thinks that his and your game should wait until after school?" Chandler suggested, shrugging a bit to show some mild degree of wonder and confusion.

"We've had games before classes started before," Kara replied to her younger cousin, "So I don't really see how Lincoln wanting to wait until after classes would be much of an excuse." Astrid, having finished getting what she was going to need from her locker, proceeded to lead Kara and (unfortunately enough) Chandler off to try and find Ronnie Anne.

* * *

Astrid and Kara (and Chandler) failed to locate Ronnie Anne before the warning bell rang, although they did come across Clyde McBride, Lincoln's closest friend and the boy that Astrid had feelings for. The white-haired girl was barely able to keep herself clam long enough to ask Clyde about Lincoln, to which the bespectacled African American boy replied that, other than Lincoln coming over to his place last Saturday due to his (Lincoln's) sisters getting into a big fight with each other, he hadn't seen hide or hair of Lincoln. Clyde also mentioned having run into Ronnie Anne, noting that the Hispanic tomboy looked like she didn't sleep a wink during the previous night. Seeing as how the warning bell had rung, Astrid and the others decided to put their search for Lincoln on hold for the time being.

The first couple of hours before lunch went by normally for Astrid; she went to her classes, tried to ignore the feeling that Chandler, who shared at least one class before lunch with her, was looking at her, did all of her classwork, and even answered a few questions asked by a teacher to the class as a whole correctly. After all of that came lunch, which was something of a relief for the half-Swedish half-Japanese girl since Chandler generally kept away from her during lunch. This was because Astrid always sat with either Ronnie Anne, who terrified the conceited boy, or her siblings who also attended the combined grades school; that included Alphonse, who always did a great job at making Chandler go away with nothing more than a glare. On this day, Astrid had lunch with her siblings, those being her older brother Alphonse, younger brothers Andy and Argent, and younger sister Anna.

Alphonse, the oldest of the Ace siblings that attended the combined grades school, had somewhat tanned skin that denoted some degree of Native American heritage. Alphonse wore his black hair in a men's ponytail in such a way that was seen as common for Native American men. As for wardrobe, Alphonse wore a white men's tank top, yellow pants with fringes on the side, and brown shoes; Alphonse also wore a Native American beaded necklace made primarily of beads that were white in color, although a small number of pink beads could also be seen.

Andy, ten years old and one grade below Astrid, was fair skinned and had scruffy brown hair. Andy wore a short-sleeved red and white jersey reminiscent of a certain professional football team, a pair of red gym shorts, socks and a pair of black shoes. Andy also wore a necklace that had a traditional Thor's hammer charm on it.

Argent, the youngest of the Ace boys at the combined grades school at eight years of age, had fair skin and brown hair similar to Andy, although Argent wore his hair somewhat longer. Argent also wore a dark reddish long-sleeved shirt (with loose hanging sleeve ends) under a green t-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts the same color as the long-sleeved shirt, socks, a pair of black shoes, and even a pair of glasses. Argent, despite being two years younger and two grades lower than Andy, was much better than Andy when it came to academics; the eight-year-old Ace boy claims that his friend Rocky Spokes has a similar dynamic with his older brother Rusty, where the younger of the pair was better at academics than the older of the pair.

The five Ace siblings who go to the combined grades school had lunch together, but as they ate, they were met up by Kara, who was carrying a lunch tray. "Hey, would you all mind it too much if I joined you?" Kara asked the Aces.

"Not at all," Astrid replied as she scooted aside to make room for Kara while likewise moving her lunch aside to make room for Kara's tray; Astrid had a lunch that was prepared at home, a lunch that took her inability to have too much sugar into consideration.

"Hey Astrid, is this a new friend of yours?" Anna asked her older sister in a friendly and curious tone while gesturing to Kara. As the youngest Ace sibling at only six years of age, Anna was naturally predisposed to being friendly and welcoming to other kids at the school, especially potential new friends.

"Sort of," Astrid replied, "I mean, I just met her recently, but I get the feeling that Kara will be a very reliable-"

"Look, McBride," a familiar female voice said, cutting Astrid off midsentence and making her, her siblings and Kara turn to see Ronnie Anne Santiago, the girl that she and Kara had been trying to find earlier, talking a little bit too loudly to Clyde. "I'm deathly sure I know where my own boyfriend is!" Ronnie Anne continued. When more than a number of eyes aimed their field of vision at the Hispanic tomboy, she looked around and snapped, "What are you all looking at?!" This prompted everyone who was looking at Ronnie Anne to immediately find their school lunches very interesting to look at.

Over where the five youngest Ace siblings sat with Kara, Kara herself said with a hint of knowing humor in her tone, "Well, there's Ronnie Anne, but judging by the way she's yelling right now, I doubt she'd be in the mood to answer anything about Lincoln's location."

"Hey Astrid," Argent began, getting his older sister to turn to regard him, "Ronnie Anne is your friend, so shouldn't you go and talk to her? Hopefully get her to calm down?"

Gently shaking her head, Astrid replied, "I've known Ronnie Anne for a while, at least since both her and I were Anna's age. That being said, I know enough about her to be able to tell when it would be a good idea to approach her, and when it would _not_ be a good idea to approach her." Astrid looked back over to Ronnie Anne, who was now apparently talking to Lincoln's older sister Lynn about something; Lynn was wearing a red tank top and a pair of blue jean shorts as opposed to her usual sports jersey and gym shorts, and Lynn seemed somewhat depressed about something. This struck Astrid as odd, but she decided that it was ultimately a non-factor.

"I can tell that this is one of those times that I'm going to want to wait to talk to Ronnie Anne at least until after classes today," Astrid remarked. Turning to face Argent again, Astrid went on, "Maybe she'll be calm enough for Kara and me to ask her about where-"

"You BITCH!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed from over where she was talking to Lynn, cutting Astrid off midsentence and prompting all five of the present Ace siblings, along with Kara and a few other students in the cafeteria, to turn their attention to see the Hispanic tomboy lunge over a table to tackle the athletic Loud sister to the floor. Astrid, her siblings, Kara and every other student watching the ensuing brawl had no idea what would prompt the school's resident Queen of Pain to up and attack Lynn Loud.

"What the hell got into her panties?" Kara asked with a confused look on her face as she and the others all watched Ronnie Anne and Lynn duke it out.

"I…I don't know," Astrid replied worriedly as Lynn smacked Ronnie Anne a few times with a food tray, right before Ronnie Anne threw Lynn into a nearby table. At that point, roughly half of the students in the cafeteria stampeded out in a rush of panic, fearing that they would get caught up between Ronnie Anne and Lynn; Astrid, her siblings and Kara were among the students who did not run out of the cafeteria. Other students started to try and encourage Lynn and Ronnie Anne to continue the fight, although Astrid and her group were not among this number.

"Should we try and do something?" Anna asked as she began to freak out. Point at where the sporty Loud sister fought the Queen of Pain, Anna said, "They're hurting each other!"

"I'm not wanting to get in the middle of _that_ , nor can anyone make me," Kara said flatly.

"I can't really blame you," Alphonse remarked while, over at the fight, Lynn somehow managed to pull off Ronnie Anne's signature purple hoodie, revealing a black tank top that was worn under said hoodie. There was also something written on the front of the tank top that Ronnie Anne wore, but Astrid and her group were too far away to see what it was. Ronnie Anne looked dazed, and her being dazed was confirmed when she was unable to defend against a kick that Lynn landed against the side of her mouth.

When Ronnie Anne shook her head a bit before spitting out a tooth, Andy said, "Alright, someone's got to stop those girls from tearing each other apart." Turning to face Astrid, Andy said, "Ronnie Anne's your friend, right? Shouldn't you go in there and back Ronnie Anne up against Lynn?"

This caught the white-haired Ace girl's attention; Astrid was not a violent girl, although even she was considering the option of rushing into try and help Ronnie Anne, if only to make the one-on-one fight a two-on-one fight in favor of the Hispanic tomboy. However, Astrid's aforementioned lack of being violent would probably get her severely hurt; also, if she did get involved, Astrid would at best be a liability to her bestie.

…However, looking over to where the two girls fought, Astrid and her group saw that Ronnie Anne had Lynn pinned on the floor, slamming Lynn's face into the floor a few times. Lynn had tried to get Ronnie Anne off, but the Hispanic tomboy wasn't having any of it. Lynn tried to punch at Ronnie Anne, but she grabbed Lynn's fist before planting her (Ronnie Anne's) foot on the back of her head.

"Dude, is Ronnie Anne actually _winning_ against Lynn?" Andy said in clear surprise as, over at where the fight's happening, it looked like Ronnie Anne was deliberately trying to actually _break_ the sporty Loud sister's arm. Once again, Astrid's attention was caught; sure, Ronnie Anne was a very tough girl, but everyone at school would readily claim that Lynn Loud was tougher. After all, Lynn was a gifted athlete who was two years Ronnie Anne's senior, _and_ she (Lynn) practiced Tae Kwon Do.

And yet Ronnie Anne was actually _winning_ against-

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" a booming adult male voice called out, getting everyone in the cafeteria to stop what they were doing to turn and see the principal, two security officers and a few teachers walk into the cafeteria. None of the students dared to so much as twitch as the principal made his way over to where Ronnie Anne and Lynn were having their altercation.

"Both of you," the principal said to the two girls, "My office, NOW." The Hispanic tomboy got off of Lynn, allowing her to get up and massage her sore arm. Astrid and her group could see Ronnie Anne and Lynn mutter something to each other while shooting each other venomous glares at each other, but neither Astrid, any of her siblings or Kara could hear the exchange that took place between the two violent girls.

No one said anything until at least a minute after Ronnie Anne and Lynn were escorted out of the cafeteria. It was Argent who first spoke up. "…Well…" Argent said dryly, "…That was violent."

"Glad I wasn't caught up in that," Kara remarked.

Astrid could only shake her head in a manner that conveyed some degree of disappointment. The white-haired Ace girl knew that Ronnie Anne was going to get into some degree of trouble for the fight she had with Lynn, as would Lynn herself. Fights on school grounds were very much against the rules, after all.

Astrid had hoped Ronnie Anne would learn her lesson from the _last_ time she got into trouble for something like this.

* * *

Later after the incident at lunch, Alphonse was in one of his classes, taking notes for a quiz that was going to take place on Wednesday. Although not a straight A honor roll student, Alphonse still did more than well enough in all of his subjects. As he took notes, the fourteen-year-old Ace boy overheard some girls that were sitting ahead of him in class.

Alphonse didn't catch too much of what the girls said, but he did hear enough to deduce that the girls were talking about the fight in the cafeteria earlier between Lynn and Ronnie Anne. He also heard one of the girls say how close Ronnie Anne looked to break Lynn's arm. Alphonse then heard one of the girls say something about having heard that Ronnie Anne claiming that Lynn's younger brother Lincoln was her (Ronnie Anne's) boyfriend.

" _Does Lynn_ ' _s younger brother Lincoln have something to do with why Lynn and Ronnie Anne fought in the cafeteria_?" Alphonse thought, his interest being very mildly piqued, " _And there is the fact that Astrid and her friend Kara were trying to locate Ronnie Anne earlier because of something having to do with Lynn_ ' _s sibling_." Speaking of siblings of Lynn, Luan Loud, who sat ahead of the girls that were talking, turned around and scolded the two girls over some reason that Alphonse didn't quite catch. One of the girls responded to Luan's scolding in a taunting tone, but before Luan could respond, the teacher called all three girls out on talking while he was trying to go over the lesson.

The teacher told Luan and the other two girls to quit talking and pay attention to the lesson, as there would be a quiz on the material on Wednesday. Alphonse, who was already doing as the teacher said (and without even being called out for goofing off in some manner), decided to put his curiosity to the side for the time being so he could focus on the lesson.

It wouldn't do if he skimped on his lessons.

* * *

After the final bell rang for the day, Astrid and her siblings had some time before their pick up from school. As such, Astrid decided to do some asking around. From what Astrid had been able to gather, both Ronnie Anne and Lynn were suspended until Friday. This did not surprise the half-Swedish half-Japanese girl. Oh well, at least Ronnie Anne could count on her to keep tabs on lessons in class and homework assignments.

As Astrid walked over to where she expected to meet up with her siblings, Clyde ran past her, making her freeze up out of embarrassment. From the looks of it, Clyde was heading out to the tree in the schoolyard. Part of Astrid wanted to follow her crush out to wherever, but she knew better than to keep her siblings waiting. Also, Astrid still had butterflies in her stomach when it came to trying to approach Clyde.

Eventually, Astrid found where her siblings were waiting; Argent wasn't there yet, but Alphonse, Andy and Anna were. "Where's Argent?" Astrid asked as she approached her siblings.

"I don't know," Anna remarked, looking mildly conflicted. The white-haired Ace girl could tell that something was troubling her little sister, so she decided to push.

"Anna, did anything happen in one of your classes today?" Astrid asked, sounding vey much the caring, concerned and gentle older sister.

"My friends Lola and Lana," Anna said as she began to explain what was going on, "They both looked very sad about something, although I don't know what. Also, Lola wasn't dressed as a princess for some odd reason."

"Another one of the Louds…" Alphonse remarked to himself, just loud enough for his younger siblings to hear.

Looking up at his older brother, Andy asked, "What do you mean, Alphonse?"

Casting a glance at Andy, Alphonse said, "In the class I had after the incident during lunch, I overheard Luan Loud and two other girls in class get into some sort of argument before the teacher called them out on it and made them pay attention to the lesson. I heard Lincoln's name thrown around at least once in that conversation."

"Do you know anything specific?" Astrid asked.

Gently shaking his head in the negative, Alphonse replied, "Sorry, but I was trying to pay attention to the lesson. I didn't get anything from the conversation between Luan and those two other girls aside from bits and pieces that I have no clue how to string together." With a shrug, Alphonse said, "Maybe we can swing by the Loud's place later when we get back home from school. We're friends with some of them, so I bet we can-"

"I don't believe it!" Argent's familiar voice could be heard saying, cutting Alphonse off as he and the other siblings turned to see their eight-year-old brother come walking up. Argent clearly looked upset about something. "I can't believe Lucy and her sisters would do such a thing!" Argent ranted more to himself than to anyone, "What will Rocky think when he finds out what Lucy and her sisters have-"

"You okay, bro?" Andy asked, cutting Argent off mid-rant and making him turn his line of sight to his siblings.

Argent took a breath to steady himself, clearly upset (in an angry manner) about what he was ranting about. "Sorry, everyone," Argent apologized, "But I just found out something rather troubling about Lucy and her siblings." Looking at his siblings, Argent said, "Get this; aside from Lucy's baby sister Lily, Lucy and her sisters all ganged up on and beat Lincoln to the point that he needed to be rushed to the hospital."

Astrid, Alphonse, Andy and Anna were all clearly shocked by what their brother had just told them. "Are you serious, Argent?" Astrid asked, sounding equal parts serious and unbelieving, "Lincoln was beaten by all of his sisters?!"

"All of his sisters aside from the baby, yes," Argent replied in the affirmative, a hint of grimness in his tone, "This means that Lucy had a hand in the beating that landed her own brother in the hospital." Crossing his arms over his chest, Argent said dryly, "Since Lincoln is in the hospital right now, that would explain why no one has seen hide or hair of him at school today."

As the other Ace siblings mulled over what Argent had just told them, Astrid thought back to Ronnie Anne's explosive anger at Lynn earlier that day in the cafeteria; did Ronnie Anne somehow know that Lincoln was beaten to the point of hospitalization by Lynn and the other Loud sisters old enough to function for themselves? Astrid thought that if it were the case, then it would go a very long way to explain why Ronnie Anne would just up and attack Lynn like that.

Astrid wanted answers. Maybe her older brother Aggro and older sisters Allison and Amy would know something; they go to the high school with Lori, Leni and Luna, so they might find out something from them. If anything, it would be a good place to start trying to piece together this entire unfortunate mess.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER TWO

Author's notes:

What I intend to do with this story is to show things from the points of view of characters outside of the main conflict presented in 'Syngenesophobia'. The Aces, as well as some of my other OCs, do appear, and will likewise be appearing, in various other scenes that also appear in 'Syngenesophobia', but they won't be doing anything to interact with any of the Louds, or with any plot lines that are present in 'Syngenesophobia'.

As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter three: Coming to terms with what was learned

When Astrid Ace and her siblings who go to Royal Woods combined grades school got back home, none of them had any idea of what to say; they had learned that the Loud sisters, who they were friends with, had all ganged up on and beat Lincoln, the only boy among the siblings, to the point that Lincoln had to be taken to the hospital; the baby of the Loud family was the only Loud sister who was exempt from this crime. None of the five youngest Ace siblings had any idea how badly the sole Loud boy had been beaten by (most of) his sisters.

They all worried how their older siblings who go to the high school would react.

The front door of the Ace residence opened, and in walked Astrid, Alphonse, Andy, Argent and Anna, with their mother Ashe (who had not yet been told what happened) following behind. "Hey Allison, Aggro, Amy," Ashe said as she called out for her three oldest children, "I just got back from picking up-"

"Now's not a good time, mom," Aggro's voice said, cutting his mother off; Ashe and the K-8 school-aged Ace siblings saw Aggro and Amy walk out of the kitchen. "Allison, Amy and I just learned some rather disturbing information at school," Aggro began to explain, "We learned that Allison's friend Lori Loud-"

"-And her sisters aside from the baby all ganged up on and beat their brother to the point that he needed to be taken to the hospital?" Argent asked, cutting his older brother off by finishing his sentence for him. The male Ace twin looked at his eight-year-old brother with a look of mild surprise. Amy's look at Argent was similar to that of Aggro's.

"…Yeah, actually," Aggro replied, "Argent, how did you find out?" With that prompting, Argent proceeded to fill his older siblings in on what he and the others learned at school that day; this talk likewise filled Ashe in on what transpired. "…Yeah, that's basically it," Aggro said in a grim tone, "I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that Lori and her sisters would actually do something like that to their own brother."

"I…" Ashe began, feeling heartbroken after having heard what befell the sole Loud boy. The Ace matriarch could only begin to imagine how Rita felt; both women knew each other, mostly because of how often their respective children have been known to interact with each other.

"Hey Aggro-Oniisan," Anna said in a curious tone, "Where's Allison?"

"She took her golf club with her to a nearby junk yard," Aggro said dryly, "Saying something about wanting to smash some stuff. She also took along two bottles of mead."

"…I assume that Allison going to the nearby junkyard to rage _this_ time is because she found out what Lori had done?" Argent asked dryly.

"We first learned of what happened from Bobby, who ended his relationship with Lori," Amy began to explain, "At first, Allison refused to believe what we were told, especially since it came from a guy who did just break up with one of her closest friends. After Allison stormed off from Bobby, I went to follow her. We eventually found Lori, along with her sisters Leni and Luna, sulking alone in the library." Amy sighed in a resigned tone before she continued.

"Lori and her sisters ended up confirming what Bobby told us," the fifteen-year-old Ace girl went on, "And that confirmation…it did not sit well with Allison…"

(FLASHBACK)

Allison and Amy stood in front of a table in the library. This table was somewhat secluded from the rest of the library, due to how the tall rows of bookshelves were lines, so no one anywhere in the library would see what goes on there unless they head directly to the table. Also, Lori Loud, along with her sisters Leni and Luna, all sat at this table. All three girls clearly showed signs of having cried recently, with Leni being by far the most obvious example.

However, none of the girls were currently crying; rather, they were practically paralyzed with fear because Allison, whose current expression was a complete visage of fury, was glaring at them. "…You…" Allison began in a venom and rage-filled tone as she spoke to the three oldest Loud sisters, "…You three would actually…the very idea that…HHHNGRRRARRR!" Lori, Leni and Luna all flinched back in response to Allison's roar to the heavens; it was a roar that carried anger and rage, frustration and…sadness?

Pointing an accusing finger at the three Loud girls, Allison swore, "If you, or any of your sisters, do to any of my siblings what you did to your own brother, then pray that Odin will have mercy on you, for I shall have none." Without another word, Allison turned around and left the library, clearly in one of the foulest moods that she had ever been in. When Allison stormed off, Amy turned around to regard Lori, Leni and Luna.

Amy said nothing, only looked at the three Loud girls with an expression of somber regret. After a few seconds, Amy turned around and left the library herself, albeit quietly rather than storming off in a rage like her Viking of an older sister.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"…Aggro, Allison and I came home about an hour or so before you guys got here," Amy said to her younger siblings, "She went into the kitchen, grabbed two of the mead bottles, put them in a bag, then took said bag and her golf club with her to the nearby junkyard."

"Aggro," Ashe began in a concerned tone, "Do…do you think that your sister is going to be okay?"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Aggro said, "Mom, Allison is just coping with what happened in her own unique way. Sure, she'll be coming back home sweaty, a bit dirty, and with the scent of fermented honey on her breath, but Allison will be fine."

"Can…can you go check on your sister, Aggro?" Ashe asked.

Aggro rolled his shoulders a bit, causing the cloth carrying case over his back to shift a little bit. "I had to miss the Kendo practice at the local park because of what happened," Aggro began, "So I suppose that I have the time." Walking to the front door, Aggro added in a grim tone, "I'm kind of in the mood to smash a few things at the junkyard myself."

* * *

"HHHNGRRRARRR!" Allison roared in the nearby junkyard as she smashed a half-broken plant pot with her golf club, the somewhat thin pottery shattering into oblivion. Turning around, the female Ace twin looked for something else she could smash. The windows of that junked car that sat about twenty feet away from the remains of the pot looked to be a rather tempting target for her fury, fury that was fueled by disgust, rage, disappointment and two bottles of mead.

Gripping the handle of her golf club with both hands, Allison proceeded to charge at the junked car, as if she were a Viking charging at an enemy who she was going to decapitate. However, the female Ace twin stopped when she heard her male counterpart call out.

"Mom is worried about you, Allison," Aggro said, getting Allison to turn and face him.

"I am in a foul mood right now, brother," Allison said as she panted, "Leave me be to work the rage out of my system."

With a playful smirk, Aggro replied, "If I were to leave you alone to work the rage out of your system, then you'd be here in the junkyard forever."

"I am in no mood for jokes," Allison spat back right away. The playful mirth that was in Aggro's expression faded instantly, replaced with stern disappointment.

"And _I_ am in no mood to just leave you here in the junkyard," Aggro retorted, "Drunk and smashing everything within sight."

"Well what would _you_ do if you discovered that your closest friend had just committed an act of ultimate betrayal against their own family?" Allison shot back at her twin brother. It was then that Aggro saw why his twin was so upset; Allison took the concept of family very seriously, no doubt because the Vikings of the Ace family's Swedish heritage, whose values Allison tried to live by, cared greatly for kin and clan. She found it inconceivable that anyone would do any serious harm to their own flesh and blood. It was for that reason why Allison got so mad at Bobby, accusing him of trying to slander Lori. So, when Allison and Amy were told by the Loud girls that they (the Loud girls) did indeed beat their own younger brother to the point that he needed to be hospitalized, it was natural that Allison wouldn't react very well to the news.

Aggro knew that Lori and most of the other Loud sisters had 'betrayed' Lincoln, as Allison had just put it, but the male Ace twin could also tell that his twin sister was also having feelings of being betrayed. Betrayed by someone she considered as her closest friend.

Who, from what Aggro was able to gather, was no longer counted as a friend.

The rage that was pushing the female Ace twin on was dissipating. Allison started breathing shakily, as if she were about to start crying; her grip on her golf club slipped, allowing the cherished four-iron to fall to the ground of the junkyard. "…For Lori and her sisters to do what they did to their own brother…" Allison said as her voice started to break, "…How can…how can such a thing even be possible…?"

Aggro sighed in a resigned tone before walking over to his sister. Picking up Allison's golf club, Aggro slipped it back into the rectangular leather carrying case over Allison's back. After he did that, Aggro stood directly in front of his sister who, for the first time in as long as Aggro could remember, was crying. Softly crying, mind you, but crying all the same. The last time that Aggro remembered seeing his twin so vulnerable was roughly five years ago, when their father Shigure was killed in an accident. Given that his sister was upset, Aggro did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

He wrapped his arms around Allison to give her a hug.

* * *

It was Thursday of the week, only a few days after that most fateful Sunday. During the afternoon, after everyone had gotten out of school, Argent could be seen walking in the part of the neighborhood where the Loud family residence was located. Aside from his backpack, Argent didn't have anything with him. Eventually, the eight-year-old Ace boy found his goal, that being the Loud's place.

Argent made a beeline for the home, taking note of how eerily quiet it was in the area, given that there was usually enough noise generated in this part of the neighborhood to make a few people go temporarily deaf. In fact, Argent felt that it got quieter and quieter the closer he got to the Loud's place. Weird, considering how it typically tends to get louder and louder the closer one gets to the Loud's place, as it's the source of the aforementioned generated noise.

…Or rather, it _was_ the source.

But more of that later. Right now, Argent had a task that he was carrying out, a task on behalf of a friend. Reaching the front door of the house, Argent gave it a quick few knocks. A few seconds later, the door was opened by Lynn Loud Sr., the patriarch of the Loud family. Lynn Sr. gave the eight-year-old Ace boy a curious look.

"If you're friends with any of my daughters at school, then I'm afraid that you can't come over," Lynn Sr. began, "All of my daughters are grounded. Other than Lily, of course."

"I'm actually here on behalf of my friend Rocky Spokes, sir," Argent replied as he took his backpack off and set it on the patio floor. Opening his backpack, Argent removed two items. The first item was some beanie-boo eyed black cat stuffy that looked like it was a stitched-up lab monster, obviously a special edition toy that was sold around Halloween. The second item was a sheet of line paper that was folded twice in a way that made it sort of resemble an envelope. The phrase 'From Rocky' was on the front.

"Is Lucy home?" Argent asked the Loud patriarch, "These are for her."

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lynn Sr. replied, "Yeah, hold on." Turning around to look up the stairs, Lynn Sr. called, "Lucy, get down here! Someone is here to see you!" A few seconds later, Lucy Loud came up to the front door; Argent even saw her a bit as she came down the stairs. To the eight-year-old Ace boy's piqued interest, Lucy had her bangs up, exposing her eyes. When she saw who it was at the front door for her, the gothic Loud sister could not help but show some amount of surprise.

"Argent?" Lucy began, "Why are you here?" In response, Argent handed Lucy both the Halloween cat stuffy and the note. "…That's the cat stuffy that I gave to Rocky last Halloween," Lucy remarked, concern in her tone. It wasn't a hint of concern in an emotionless monotone, but rather a straight-up concerned tone. This also got Argent attention.

But Argent put his curiosity to the side, as he had a job to do. "Yeah, Rocky asked me to give you both the cat and the note for him," the eight-year-old Ace boy said, a hint of disgusted bitterness in his tone. Argent's mention of the note prompted Lucy to look at it. Trembling a bit as she recognized Rocky's handwriting on the cover, the gothic Loud sister unfolded the note, and read what it said;

 _I_ ' _m sorry_.

The short and simple message, combined with Lucy's gift to Rocky being returned, told Lucy everything that she needed to know about what exactly was going on. Lucy, looking like she was about to tear up any moment, looked up from the note to Argent, who was not in any mood to offer her any comfort.

"I hope you're happy," Argent said to Lucy in a bitter tone, "You broke my best friend's heart." Picking up his backpack and slipping it back on, Argent, without saying another word, turned around and took his leave from the Loud's residence.

* * *

The day following Argent's visit to the Loud's residence would normally be cause for celebration for the students of Royal Woods combined grades school. After all, it was a Friday, the day that many took to be the beginning of a short break of freedom from the trappings of the school system. But this Friday, for all its promises of rest and relaxation, was not abuzz with talk of what someone was going to do during the weekend or talk of what someone was going to do the moment they got home from school that day.

Rather, Royal Woods combined grades school was abuzz with rumors and gossip. Rumors and gossip about why Lincoln Loud, the only Loud boy attending the school and the only Loud boy overall, had apparently been hospitalized.

"Maybe he tried to pull off a totally sick skateboard trick he saw somewhere, but got really hurt when he stuffed it," one fifth-grade boy guessed.

"Maybe he was hit by a truck or something," one fifth-grade girl suggested.

"I was going to guess that maybe at least one of Lincoln's many sisters is somehow involved," another fifth-grade girl remarked.

"That doesn't sound very Oh hey!" a second fifth-grade boy said, "I see Lincoln right now! He's talking to Ronnie Anne!"

"Jordan, that's Astrid," a third fifth-grade girl pointed out dryly.

"…Oh," Boy Jordan replied as he took a second look, sounding very much embarrassed.

Over by one of the rows of lockers in the one hallway, Astrid was talking to her friend Ronnie Anne. "Huh, thanks for keeping tabs on everything I missed while I was suspended," Ronnie Anne remarked to her friend, "That'll make catching up loads easier."

"Just…try to keep out of trouble in the future, alright?" Astrid replied in a mildly concerned tone, "You know how much I tend to worry whenever you get into trouble."

With a bit of a huff, Ronnie Anne said in a tone that clearly carried a strong hint of bitterness, "Well that bitch Lynn had the beating I gave her coming. All of Lynn's sisters, aside from the baby, deserve at least one good beating if you ask me."

Astrid was concerned, and a bit alarmed, to hear the Hispanic tomboy use such language. Ronnie Anne's beef with the Loud girls must really be serious if she's actually using foul language; the closest that Astrid has ever come to cursing is using the word 'heck'; not its firmer version of 'hell', just 'heck'. But Ronnie Anne has been cursing up a storm due to her issues with the Loud girls. Astrid was really thrown for a loop when Ronnie Anne referred to Lynn as the 'c' word, and in so casual of a tone as well.

And Astrid knew full well _why_ Ronnie Anne was cursing so badly.

"Ronnie Anne…" Astrid began in a concerned and somewhat timid-sounding tone, "…I know that you're really upset with what happened to Lincoln, but is there really a need to-"

"Hush," Ronnie Anne said, cutting Astrid off, putting her left index finger over Astrid's lips in a gesture to get her to be quiet. The white-haired Ace girl could see why her friend wanted her to hush up; Lynn was walking by in the hallway. The athletic Loud girl, for some reason unknown to Astrid lacking her usual aura of athleticism, had even seen the two girls, and was shooting death glares at Ronnie Anne, just as Ronnie Anne was shooting death glares back at her.

Lynn looked like she was about to say something, but she stopped short when she noticed Astrid standing next to Ronnie Anne. Seeing that Lynn was looking at her, Astrid instantly froze up, afraid that the sporty Loud might try to do to her what she did to Ronnie Anne back on Monday. Lynn looked at the half-Swedish half-Japanese girl, who was paralyzed in fear. The firm anger that was in Lynn's expression when she stared down Ronnie Anne dissipated suddenly as she stared at Astrid. This did not escape the white-haired Ace girl, who began to clam down as she sensed Lynn's temper dying down. Lynn turned her head back around to face the hallway ahead of her. Hanging her head slightly as if ashamed, Lynn, without saying a word, took her leave.

After the sporty Loud sibling was gone, Astrid and Ronnie Anne turned to face each other. "That was one of the scariest moments of my life," Astrid remarked to her tomboyish friend, "I was kind of afraid that Lynn was going to try and tear me limb from limb."

"I think such thoughts from that bitch were aimed at me, not you," Ronnie Anne pointed out to her friend in a casual tone, "Besides, she probably wants to avoid getting into trouble, seeing as how she was just allowed back onto school grounds today." With a knowing look on her face, the Hispanic tomboy added, "I know the feeling all too well."

Astrid smiled in response to what her friend had said. "Aww, you actually _do_ care about wanting to stay out of trouble," the white-haired Ace girl remarked, her touched tone carrying a hint of knowing playfulness.

Chuckling a bit despite herself, Ronnie Anne gave Astrid's right shoulder a playful shove while saying, "Shut up."

* * *

Trixie Goldman had to miss classes at Royal Woods High School today due to breaking something in her right forearm. She was at the hospital, having just gotten a cast on her arm that should stay there for at least a few weeks. The cast was solid white, making it a perfect target for people wanting to sign their names to extend wishes of a swift recovery. Wishes from people who care about Trixie as a person, not Trixie as someone who had connections.

Roughly five years ago, Trixie was rather wealthy, the one percent of Royal Wood's one percent. In fact, Trixie's father Buford was even running for Mayor of Royal Woods back when Trixie just entered the seventh grade. However, Trixie had a feeling that all of the friends she had back then were friends with her because she was rich, stylish and popular. Not one of them truly saw her as anything beyond someone to latch onto in order to climb the social ladder.

Until Lori Loud showed up, that is.

Back then, Lori looked like the very definition of nerdy awkwardness. Many would never suspect a pretty, stylish popular girl like Trixie to form a connection with a nerdy, awkward loser like Lori. But the connection began when Lori saved Trixie from being harassed by two girl bullies that were looking to throw her into a nearly-full trash can because reasons. Within very short order, Trixie had recognized Lori as her closest friend, her first _actual_ friend.

Shortly after that, Trixie and Lori came across some terrible truth about Trixie's dad. Although doing so was one of the most painful things she ever had to do, Trixie, who was taught to live honestly by the very man who turned out to be dishonest, helped Lori, along with Allison Ace, gather evidence needed to have her dad arrested. Due to the fallout of the arrest, the Goldman name lost its wealth and prestige, its influence and respect. After Buford (who is still in prison) was arrested, Trixie moved in with her Aunt Tara, and still lives with her to this day.

You know how some people say to others 'do as I say, not as I do'? Well, Trixie was all too glad to do as her father said, not as he _did_.

With the change in social class came a change in wardrobe; Trixie now dressed in casual clothes that some might say would be blue collar. The seventeen-year-old former rich girl wore her hair in a long hairstyle that seemed as casual as Luna Loud's short pixie cut, and she wore a red unbuttoned shirt over a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans (held up with a belt) and a pair of sneakers; it was a style that Trixie sported to this day.

The change in social class and wardrobe also carried a change in Trixie's friends; the many pretty popular girls who were quick to be friends with Trixie started to slowly drift away. Sure, they stuck around a bit out of sympathy because Trixie's dad _was_ recently arrested at the time, but since Trixie no longer carried the prestige of being in the upper class, the pretty popular girls, all aiming to further their own position on the social ladder hierarchy, soon lost any interest that they had in the former rich girl.

…However, the falling away of those fake friends helped to make Trixie's _real_ friends stand out all the more. There was Allison Ace, and Carol Pingrey soon joined the ranks as well. Trixie also came to know, and befriend to some degree in her own right, some friends of the other Loud siblings, such as Sam Sharp, Bobby Santiago and Allison's siblings Aggro and Amy, and there is also no forgetting Lori's siblings Leni and Luna. But Lori was the top of the lot in Trixie's opinion. Lori was Trixie's first real friend.

Her best friend.

Which was all the more reason why Trixie was concerned to see that Lori, as well and Leni and Luna, all looked beyond guilty on Monday of the school week that had just come to an end. The former rich girl was also concerned when she heard that Lori and Bobby had broken up, then became even _more_ concerned when she heard _why_ one of the hallmark romantic relationships of RWHS came to a sudden and abrupt end.

Lori…there's no way that Lori and all of her sisters (aside from the baby, whose name Trixie actually hasn't learned yet) really did severely beat their only brother to the point that the sole boy among the number of the Loud siblings really needed to be taken to the hospital for medical treatment.

…Is there?

As Trixie, wearing her current usual outfit, sat on a chair in one part of the hospital as she waited for her Aunt Tara to come pick her up, gently rubbing the cast on her right forearm as she waited, her attention was suddenly perked up when she heard what sounded like a young male voice crying out in panic and fear.

"I'm sorry!" Trixie could hear the young male voice shout fearfully, "I'm sorry I didn't respect your Sister Fight Protocol! I promise I won't do it again! I'll do anything you want! Just, please! Don't hurt me!"

" _What is that all about_?" Trixie thought to herself in confusion, " _And what the hell is a Sister Fight Protocol_?" Trixie didn't have much time to dwell on her question, as her Aunt Tara came walking up to her. Tara was a young-looking, slim yet healthy woman who was about as old as Rita Loud. Tara wore more or less the same outfit as her niece, although Tara's shirt was white and the buttoned shirt was blue.

"There you are, Trixie," Tara said, "Ready to bounce?"

"I've been ready for the past forty-five minutes, Aunt Tara," Trixie replied as she stood up and followed her current guardian out of the hospital. The bit of that young male voice crying out in panic became forgotten by the former rich girl the moment she hopped into the passenger seat of her aunt's car.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER THREE

Author's notes:

In my efforts to flesh out the Aces, other OCs and various side characters, to show how they are feeling/how they are doing, I decided that I'm going to be expanding upon a few bits from 'Syngenesophobia' here and there; I wanted to put an especial amount of effort into the scene where Argent brings those things to Lucy on Rocky's behalf, since Lucy said at one point that Rocky didn't want to talk to her anymore due to her role in what happened to Lincoln.

Anywho, the next chapter will be set during Saturday, which is the day that that the first of the therapy sessions with the good doctor occur. Since there are very little scenes in that part of 'Syngenesophobia' that doesn't focus exclusively on the Louds, I'm going to be taking the time to flesh out a few more key parts, although some references to the story proper are still going to be made. As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me. Full credit for his story should go to him.

By the way, if any of you are curious about just who the character Trixie Goldman is, you can find out in detail by checking out 'Awkward Hero'.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter four: Reflections on the past

It was Saturday, the day after the Friday in which Lynn Loud Jr. and Ronnie Anne Santiago were allowed back onto school grounds. The Ace siblings were doing what they would normally be doing; hanging with friends, mostly. Although Andy and Astrid didn't leave the house right away, with Andy watching some cartoons and Astrid catching up on the latest episodes of an anime that she was really getting into, most of the Ace siblings were still out socializing with their friends.

Only…a lot of them lacked the flare that they would normally have, as if something was weighing down on them emotionally speaking. But then again, the Aces were still trying to sort out exactly how they felt in light of finding out about what the Loud sisters (Lily excluded) had done to Lincoln, the only boy among the number of the Loud siblings as a whole. And the Aces were not the _only_ ones still trying to figure out exactly what their thought on the matter were.

"I still cannot believe that Lori would have gone so far as to betray her own clan like that," Allison remarked in a clearly disappointed huff, her arms folded over her chest, as she hung out and spoke with her friend Trixie Goldman, as well as Aggro, her (Allison's) younger twin brother, and Bobby Santiago, Aggro's closest friend.

"I'm…I'm still trying to sort through a bit of thought here myself," Trixie said, clearly sounding conflicted, "I mean, I know that word of what Lori and her sisters have done started to spread at school, thus most everyone has taken to avoiding the Louds like they bore a black spot or something." Gently shaking her head, the former rich girl sighed in a resigned tone. "But I…I would never expect anything like this out of Lori. She is one of my closest friends."

" _Was_ one of your closest friends," Bobby said in a bitter tone, emphasizing the word 'was'.

The former rich girl turned her attention to the teen who worked many jobs, casting a firm look at him. " _Is_ one of my closest friends," Trixie shot back, emphasizing the word 'is', "Sure, what Lori and her sisters did is nothing short of monstrous, and of course I'm very disappointed in her." With the firmness in her resolve dissipating in another resigned sigh, Trixie continued, "But she…I still care about Lori. And who's to say that Lori and her sisters aren't feeling guilty about what they did? Maybe they acted in the heat of the moment, without realizing what they were doing until after the fact."

"You…" Allison began in a tone of piqued curiosity as she spoke to Trixie, "…You think that Lori and her sisters were overcome with warrior's madness?"

"Pfft," Bobby said in a bitter and indifferent tone, "That's one way to put 'losing one's mind', I suppose." Bobby's comment earned him another firm glare from Trixie.

"What is wrong with you, Bobby?" Trixie snapped at the Hispanic teen, "How can you have such a lack of compassion? Do you know what Lori and her sisters could be going through right now?" In response to the former rich girl's attack, Bobby's brow furrowed, a clear sign that he was not going to be having any of Trixie's crap right now.

"Do you have any idea what Lincoln is going through right now?" Bobby snapped back, "I saw the state that Lincoln is in right now when I took Ronnie Anne to the hospital so she could visit him. His arm is broken, he's covered in bruises, I think he was missing at least one tooth, and he needed a tube to help him pee." Crossing his arms over his chest, Bobby added, "So yeah. I can't really see how I can have any compassion for a girl who clearly has no compassion for her own younger brother."

Trixie sighed in a resigned tone as she looked down to her broken arm, its cast having been signed by friends a few times by this point. "…I can't help but remember what things were like back five years ago," Trixie said as she continued in a tone that carried a mix of disappointment and heartbreak, "How the lot of us starting hanging out with each other after my father was arrested." Turning her attention to Bobby, Trixie went on, "You were just starting to recognize Lori back then, weren't-"

"I recognized her long before that," Bobby said in a resigned, somber tone, cutting Trixie off in the process. This sudden interruption piqued not only Trixie's attention, but that of Allison as well. Only Aggro lacked any sort of surprise in his expression due to what Bobby was talking about; it was as if the male Ace twin knew what his best friend was talking about.

Bobby sighed in a resigned tone once again, gently shaking his head as he did so. Apparently, the Hispanic teen was just trying to work himself up enough so that he would be able to share a tale with the other teens that were with him at a time. "…Here's the thing," Bobby began, "I always thought that Lori looked cute. The make-over that Lori got after she became popular with all of those girls didn't change a thing about how I felt about her…"

(FLASHBACK)

Twelve-year-old Bobby Santiago was talking with twelve-year-old Aggro Ace in the living room of the Santiago residence; the boys were more or less in the kitchen while their respective younger sisters Ronnie Anne and Astrid, both six at the time, were playing together in the living room. Casting a nervous glance at the living room, Bobby said, "Are you sure the girls won't hear us, dude? If Nie-Nie overhears us talking about you helping me try to win over the girl that I have a crush on-"

"Relax, Bobby," the male Ace twin remarked in a reassuring tone, "Your little sister is too preoccupied playing with Astrid to even think about us." The two boys were sitting at the dining table, nursing cups of soda. Taking a sip from his drink before speaking, Aggro said, "Now then. Who is this girl that you have a crush on?"

"To be honest," Bobby replied as he blushed somewhat in an embarrassed tone, "I don't even know her name. All I know is that she hangs out with your twin sister all the time."

Aggro gave Bobby's response a bit of thought before he snapped his fingers. "I think you're talking about Lori Loud," Aggro remarked.

"Lori Loud?" the twelve-year-old Hispanic boy repeated in a confused tone.

"Go get your school yearbook," Aggro instructed. Bobby nodded in agreement before getting up and leaving the kitchen. About a minute later, Bobby came back, carrying a school yearbook. At Aggro's request, Bobby handed it over to him, only to watch Aggro open the yearbook and flip through the pages. "Where is…where is…" Aggro muttered to himself as he was looking for a specific picture, "…Where is AHA!"

Aggro stopped flipping through the pages suddenly, then pointed to a picture that was in the yearbook. Taking a look, Bobby saw that Aggro was pointing at a picture of a girl about their age. The girl that Aggro was pointing at had fair skin and yellow-blonde hair that reached roughly halfway down her neck. She also wore a light blue sleeveless top with a white collar, white heart-shaped stud earrings (one in each ear lobe), a pair of glasses and, since she was smiling, you could see she also wore braces. Additionally, the girl…admittedly could do with some anti-acne medication.

Nodding in an affirmative manner, Bobby said as he pointed to the girl that Aggro was pointing to, "Yeah, man. That's the girl."

"Yeah, this is Lori Loud," Aggro explained, "She's one of my sister Allison's friends, just like you said." Closing the yearbook, the male Ace twin continued, "Also, from what I've been able to gather on the subject, Allison is pretty much the only friend that Lori has."

"That…" Bobby remarked with a confused look on his face, "…Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. How can a girl like Lori not have more than one friend?"

Aggro shrugged in response, as if to say 'beats me'. However, Aggro had a pretty good grip on the social hierarchy over at school; he had an effective working knowledge of all of the rumors and gossip that was going about. Being one of the most sought-after boys at his and Bobby's school went a great distance in helping Aggro with this. Because of the understanding that the male Ace twin had, he knew that Lori Loud was considered by and large as a nerdy, unpopular loser that, as far as the in-crowd of the school's student population was concerned, more or less didn't even exist. Aggro's personal opinion of Lori was _far_ better than what most of the rest of the school thought, though.

"…Maybe she doesn't do a very good job at standing out?" Aggro offered, trying to sound as helpful as possible.

"Well she stands out to me," Bobby replied, "And that's what I care about." Aggro could tell that his friend had feelings for the nerdy-looking Loud girl, and that said feelings were honest. With a sigh, Bobby continued, "A shame I don't know anything about her, like what kind of a person she is and what not."

Smiling in a mildly amused tone, Aggro replied, "Well then, it's a good thing that Allison dragged me along a few times when she went to go hang out with Lori. From what I have seen so far, Lori is an intelligent albeit shy girl who clearly must be in possession of an unlimited amount of patience if she's able to consistently put up with a girl like Allison on the regular basis." With a nod in the affirmative, Aggro went on, "Also, Lori is great when it comes to handling her younger siblings."

"Siblings?" Bobby repeated in a confused tone.

"From what I gathered," Aggro explained, "Lori is the oldest out of nine children. She has seven sisters named Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana and Lola, and one brother named Lincoln."

"One kid out of nine in a family is a boy?" Bobby said in clear surprise, "Geez, I bet the little dude feels outnumbered all the time."

With a gentle shake of his head, Aggro replied, "He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he's outnumbered by his sisters. In fact, he seems pretty close to Lori."

"Oh yeah?" Bobby asked.

Nodding once, Aggro said, "It's a classic case of a younger sibling looking up to an older sibling, thinking said older sibling is the single greatest person in the history of forever."

"Heh, I bet that it'd be pretty cute to watch Lori's little brother say how great his big sister is," Bobby remarked with a chuckle. The male Ace twin nodded once in agreement. "So Aggro, dude," Bobby began, "Think you can help me work out a plan to try and win over Lori?" Aggro smiled in mild amusement, clearly able to see how set his friend was on winning over the heart of the girl he had a crush on.

"…Just tell me what you need my help with, Bobby," Aggro replied.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

Back in the present, Bobby was finishing up his tale that he was telling to Allison and Trixie. "…And Aggro was right," Bobby remarked, a hint of somberness in his tone, "Lori did turn out to be a kind girl who cared about her siblings." With a resigned sigh, the Hispanic teen added, "But with what happened, the condition I saw Lincoln was in at the hospital…I'm not entirely sure what to think anymore."

"What happened is something that everyone is having trouble coming to terms with," Aggro remarked in a casual tone of agreement. Casting a glance over at Trixie, Aggro added, "I bet that Lori and her sisters are also having trouble coming to terms with what happened as well."

"Wait a minute," Bobby said in a tone of complete shock, "What?!"

Turning back to face his closest friend, Aggro explained with a hint of firmness in his tone, "Trixie has a point about how Lori and her sisters must be going through a lot. In fact, I have no doubt that all of them feel beyond guilty over what they had done, what they had all taken part in doing to their own brother."

"Lori and her sisters aren't the only ones to have ever succumbed to warrior's madness," Allison said to the Hispanic teen. With a chuckle, Allison added while jerking a thumb at Aggro, "Luckily for me, I have a brother that was able to smack some sense back into me before I did something that I would be regretting for the rest of my life."

"Well…" Aggro began, a hint of knowing amusement in his tone, "…I would be lying if I said that I was never interested in testing my bokken out in a fight against that golf club of yours."

"Wait a minute," Trixie interrupted suddenly, a surprised look on her face. To the Ace twins, Trixie said, "The two of you fought each other with weapons?!"

"Welcome to Royal Woods, Trixie," Bobby remarked dryly as he held his arms out to the side at length, earning a few chuckles out of the Ace twins.

* * *

Sunday, the day after the talk between Allison, Aggro, Trixie, and Bobby, was generally considered by the school-aged populace of Royal Woods to be the last day of freedom before one has to go back to school. It is for this reason that many kids in the Royal Woods area try to make the most of their Sundays before heading back in for five continuous days of going to class. However, not _all_ school-aged youths in Royal Woods dreaded the obligatory return to the public-school system. In fact, there were a select few kids living in Royal Woods who actually cannot _wait_ to go back to school, seeing the two days off as wasted time.

David, a boy in Royal Woods combined grade school's Kindergarten year, is one such student. Although only four years of age, David is very clearly one of the school's finest students, able to readily pass assignments far above his current level with flying colors; there has been more than one occasion where girls in the school's eighth grade year had sought David out to help them prep for an important math test due to their troubles that they were having with their math skills. Eighth-grade level math is no challenge to David, especially considering the fact that David has, on multiple occasions, given lectures over at the local college; why he is still bothering with going through grade school classes when he can teach at a college level is anyone's guess.

Yes, David is very much the star student, able to get his assignments done in next to flat. Because of this, David is one of the aforementioned very few students who cannot wait for the next week of school to start. And it wasn't just for the chance to stretch his academic muscles, either; David actually has a small but close circle of friends. There is Hugo Ashveil, a shy but kind-hearted boy who for the longest time enjoyed a status of being invisible to the rest of his classmates and the school as a whole. David was able to get through the shell that Hugo had built up around himself; Hugo warmed up to David, and now the two boys consider each other as their closest friends. David is also familiar with…

…Lisa Loud.

David paused as he looked through his microscope that he had on his desk in his bedroom. The sudden remembering of the brainy Loud sister, one of the very few who David knows of who can match or even surpass him in academics, made the four-year-old genius boy sigh in a resigned tone that carried more than a hint of disappointment. Looking up from his microscope, David slowly pushed away from his desk, sliding back in the spinning chair that he sat in. When he was about a foot away from his desk, David once again sighed in that same resigned tone.

When the rumors of what the Loud sisters had done to their only brother began to spread throughout Royal Woods combined grades school, it spread _all over_ ; not even the Kindergarten class, normally cut off from the troubles of the school's social hierarchy ladder and the grapevine of gossip, was exempted from this. It is a good thing that Lisa taught classes over at the local college, rather than go the path that David had chosen; David had no doubt that otherwise, Lisa would be in the same boat as her sisters who go to the combined grades school. As for David himself, he still respected Lisa, both as an intellectual equal and as a fellow scientist.

That was the _only_ respect that the brainy four-year-old boy still had for the brainy four-year-old girl, however. Other than that, David's opinion of Lisa matched that of what the school as a whole had for the Loud sisters, aside from that one baby that people have heard about.

Once again, David sighed in a resigned tone. He never thought that, in the four years of life that he has had so far, that he would ever be disappointed on such a level. And yet here he sat, thinking about how Lisa Loud had taken part in a severe beating that she and her older sisters had given to their only brother. The brainy four-year-old boy could not help but have feelings of disgust, betrayal and disappointment.

(FLASHBACK)

During the previous spring break, David was at the park with a bug catching net and one of those mini plastic tanks used to hold caught bugs. The brainy four-year-old boy, having heard kids at school talk about how some really rare and cool bugs were seen at the park, aimed to try and catch at least one of those bugs so he could study it; if he could catch one of those rare bugs that he heard about, that would just be the coolest.

As David looked around, he heard a young female voice call out to him. "I suppose that you are here because you were forced by someone in your family to go outside and play?" Lisa Loud's familiar voice said, prompting David to turn around and face the brainy Loud sibling.

"Actually, I heard talk at school that some rare bugs have been spotted here in the park," David explained to his fellow scientist, "I am looking to catch at least one of those bugs to study, or at the very least keep as a really cool pet."

"Rare bugs spotted here at the park?" Lisa repeated, the barest hint of piqued interest showing in her otherwise dry monotone, "I have not heard of any such rumors."

"Well another part of the reason that I am here is because I was looking to try and confirm if the rumors were true," David went on, "If they turn out to be false, then I can just go ahead and assume that the rumors were created and spread by boys who were simply trying to talk-" David stopped suddenly, and held a finger out to Lisa in a gesture conveying that she had to be quiet, as he was looking at something over near a tree.

Readying his net, David crept closer and closer to the tree that he was looking at. When he got close enough, he quickly brought his net down on the side of the tree, catching a bug as a result. Walking over to where her crush (David wasn't aware that she had a crush on him) was at, Lisa saw the bug that David had caught. Upon recognizing the bug, the brainy Loud sister was now very much surprised.

"That's an Atlas Moth!" Lisa remarked in a more surprised tone than she had used in a while, "What's a species of moth native to Asia doing here as a wild bug in North America?"

"That's what I would like to know," David replied as he carefully put the captured Atlas Moth into the mini plastic bug tank he brought with him. With the tank firmly keeping the captured bug, David said, "This is something that has to be brought to the attention of the Royal Woods Wildlife Society."

"I could not agree more," Lisa replied as she started calming down, "It is never a good thing if a species native to one continent is randomly found in the wild in another continent. The last thing that anyone needs is having to deal with an invasive species."

"Right," David said as he nodded once in agreement with the brainy Loud sister. With his caught Atlas Moth, David left the park to go contact the appropriate people, with Lisa coming along for the same reasons that interested David.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

David sighed once again in a resigned tone as he remembered that day; as it turned out, the caught Atlas Moth had escaped from a nearby insect sanctuary, so David turned it over to them, receiving a surprisingly generous reward for the Atlas Moth's return. David ended up getting an ice cream cone with some of the money he got, even treating Lisa to one as well since she was with him at the time. David hadn't spent any of the rest of the money (still a considerably note-worthy sum), which is currently sitting in his piggy bank on one of the shelves of the bookshelf in his bedroom. But even if no substantial monetary reward was involved, that day was still a day that David would not be forgetting; after all, it was a day that the brainy four-year-old boy caught an Atlas Moth.

With Lisa Loud at his side.

Once more, David sighed to himself in a resigned tone. For all of his academic skill, knowledge and prowess, the brainy four-year-old boy could not for the life of him wrap his head around what exactly would prompt a girl like Lisa Loud to take part in what she took part in. David was really at loss for words; when it came to Lisa as she currently stood, David was unable to express his disappointment, his disgust.

…His heartbreak.

* * *

A group of four girls from RWHS sat at a café, enjoying getting a bite to eat together on the lovely Sunday afternoon. Chief among these girls was Carol Pingrey, the girl who won the homecoming queen crown recently. The other three girls were busily chatting away while Carol was looking at something on her smartphone. It was a picture of girls from RWHS's varsity golf team. The reason why Carol was looking at that specific picture was because Lori Loud, who for reasons that escaped Carol was antagonistic towards her, was in the picture.

The homecoming queen had no idea why Lori was so hostile towards her, and that troubled her greatly. If anything, Carol actually wanted to be friends with Lori, to bury the hatchets and let everything be water under the bridge. As Carol was looking at Lori in the picture she had of the varsity golf team, she was snapped out of her reprieve by her friend that sat on her right, a notably well-fed girl with a very cute face, whose eyes denoted some manner of Asian heritage. "Hey, Carol," the well-fed girl said, "Earth to Carol. Are you in there?"

"Oh, sorry," Carol replied, "I was…" Sighing in a resigned tone, Carol continued, "I was just trying to figure out why Lori had been acting down in the dumps all week last week. That so isn't like her."

"Wait, you mean Lori Loud?" asked the girl on Carol's left, a slim Hispanic girl who wore square-framed black glasses. Giving Carol a confused look, the Hispanic girl asked, "Why do you care about her? Isn't she a total bitch towards you?"

"I know," Carol remarked, "But that doesn't change the fact that she's been acting kind of off all of last week."

"Maybe it has to do with Bobby Santiago breaking up with her," said the girl that sat across from Carol at the table, an African American girl who dressed sort of like a rebel.

"Wait, what?!" Carol nearly exclaimed, her eyes widening due to the shock of hearing what her dark-skinned friend had just said.

Nodding a few times in the affirmative, the African American girl continued, "I heard back on Monday that Bobby and Lori are no longer an item. The break up is still going on last time that I checked."

"That's pretty shocking," the Hispanic girl replied in a troubled tone, "I mean, Lori and Bobby were one of the hallmark couples of Royal Woods High. Now that they've broken up, do you know what this means?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you what it means," the African American girl said, her tone full of firm determination, "It means that Bobby is ripe for the taking! And I intend to be the first one in line for a shot at going out with him!"

"You…you actually want to date Bobby Santiago?" Carol asked, giving her friend a confused look.

"He a sweet, kindhearted guy," the African American girl began to explain as she listed off points on her fingers, "He's got one hell of a work ethic, and he most of all dedicated. When Bobby is with a girl, that's the only girl that he has eyes for." Leaning back in his seat, the African American girl said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Why wouldn't I want a guy like him?"

"I heard that there's already a line," the Asian girl pointed out dryly, "Some of the girls even say that Bobby might hook up with Trixie Goldman, or maybe Allison Ace."

"If Bobby tries to appeal to Allison, then I wish him the best of luck," the Hispanic girl remarked in a casual tone, "I heard that if a guy wants to start dating Allison, she requires that the guy first has to defeat her in a one-on-one fight. I remember once hearing Allison say something about how if a guy wants to prove himself to her as worthy of 'being her champion' as she puts it, then he has to be strong enough to defeat her in combat."

"Allison's tougher than most of the guys on the football team," the African American girl remarked in a worried tone, "And Bobby is no star athlete. If he ends up having to try and fight Allison, the poor guy's going to get throttled."

Carol's three friends proceeded to gossip over a number of different people that Bobby might go out with now that he and Lori were no longer an item. Carol drowned all of that nonsense out, focusing on the main overall point; Lori had broken up with her longtime boyfriend. No wonder Lori was down in the dumps all of last week and might still be down in the dumps on Monday. Yeah, Carol thought, Lori was down in the dumps because she broke up with Bobby. That had to be the reason.

…Right?

* * *

"I'm pretty sure that Mr. Loud won't let you come over to play with Lola and Lana, Anna," Argent said to his younger sister at their family's residence during that Sunday afternoon, "When I was over there on Thursday to make that delivery on Rocky's behalf, Mr. Loud said that Lola and Lana, along with all of their sisters aside from the baby, are all grounded." Crossing his arms over his chest, Argent added, "Frankly, I'm not surprised in the least that Lucy and her school-aged sisters are all grounded."

"Oh," the six-year-old Ace girl replied in a disappointed tone as she looked to the floor. Argent, along with Andy and Alphonse, all regarded the youngest member among the number of their group of siblings with surprised looks; their younger sister is aware of what Lola and Lana, and most of the rest of the Loud sisters, had done about a week ago. And yet she still has no qualms with socializing with the Loud twins?

Aggro, who was also in the room, merely looked like he had seen something that was of a similar nature to Anna's disappointment before.

"Argent has a point, Anna-chan," the male Ace twin remarked, getting all of his younger siblings to turn and face him, "Children typically aren't allowed to play with their friends when they are in trouble." With a troubled sigh, Aggro added, "Besides, I doubt that your friends would be in much of a mood to play with you, or anyone else for that matter."

"Because they feel bad because of how they made their brother have to go to the hospital?" Anna asked as she looked up at her older brother.

The male Ace twin nodded once in somber confirmation. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you're still willing to hang out with Lola and Lana," Aggro said to his younger sister, one of his eyebrows arched in piqued curiosity.

Gently shaking her head, Anna said, "I know that what Lola and Lana and their sisters did was really, really bad, and that a lot of people who were friends with them and their sisters had stopped hanging out with them. But what if Lola and Lana and their sisters feel really, really bad about what they did to their brother? Wouldn't everyone shaming them only make them feel worse about everything?"

Aggro was amazed, and a little surprised, that his six-year-old sister was giving such thought to what was going on; Aggro knows more than a few people who aren't giving anywhere near as much thought to what's going on as Anna, and Aggro only knows of very few people who are also taking into consideration how the Loud sisters must be feeling. As far as the school-aged populace of Royal Woods as a whole is concerned on the subject, the nine oldest Loud sisters are all pariahs. Walking over to where Anna stood, Aggro got down on one knee so that he was as level he could get with Anna (he still towered a bit over her) and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Anna-chan," Aggro began, "You've shown more concern for this matter than most other people that I know, put more thought into this than most would even care."

With a mildly confused look on her face, Anna asked, "What does that mean, Aggro-oniisan?"

"It means that you're more mature than most people that I know," the male Ace twin replied in a dry tone that carried a hint of pride for how much maturity his youngest sibling was showing. Aggro had seen a good number of examples where people that heard of what happened cutting off any ties they had with any of the Loud sisters that they had previously associated with, doing so without any hesitation. Aggro has seen very few examples of people who look beyond the base idea of 'the Loud sisters beat up their brother so we should ostracize them'.

Anna was one such person who cared to give more thought to what was going on. This earned the six-year-old Ace girl her oniisan's respect.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER FOUR

Author's notes:

Once again, I'm going into detail about how people outside of the situation are thinking/feeling about what's going on concerning what (most of) Lincoln's sisters did to him. Chronologically speaking, this chapter should take place during the weekend where the Louds all have their therapy sessions with the good doctor. The next chapter will start out with finishing off Sunday, but then time will move ahead quickly to cover Lincoln's return to school. Also, the episode 'Brawl in the family', which 'Syngenesophobia' is based off of, is set sometime before 'Selfie Improvement', so Carol and Lori hadn't become friends at this point in time yet. Also, Lisa teaches classes at the college rather than being a student over at the combined grades school, as is seen in 'Syngenesophobia'.

As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me. Full credit for his story should go to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter five: The return of a familiar face

It was Sunday evening in Royal Woods, Michigan. Over at the Ace family residence, Alphonse was sitting on the patio in his family's backyard. Looking up into the sky, rich with orange as the sun set, the fourteen-year-old Ace boy thought back to something that happened earlier in the day; he came across a girl who was about two years or so younger than him trying to pick on his little sister Astrid. Alphonse gave that girl a piece of his mind, the fact that she was picking on his little sister giving him the justification to punch her really hard in the arm, hard enough to get the point across, at least.

Like the _last_ time he got a point across to some bullies…

(FLASHBACK)

A few years ago, Alphonse was walking through one of the hallways of his school when he passed two somewhat brutish looking girls that looked to be the same grade as him. Brutish as they looked, when they walked past Alphonse, they tensed up slightly, as if afraid of him. Then again, Alphonse did have that stern, intimidating-looking Native American warrior look going for him whenever he got pissed at someone (he was half Native American, after all); just one glare from a pissed-off Alphonse was enough to get others to behave themselves, to deter would-be bullies from trying to give him trouble.

Alphonse noticed out of the corner of his eye that the two brutish looking girls that he passed tensed up slightly, but since they weren't trying to start anything with him, Alphonse wasn't going to do anything. If they were afraid of him, then that means they'll leave him alone. " _Well that_ ' _s good_ ," Alphonse thought as he decided to make his way to where he'd be meeting up with his friend Benny, " _The less trouble people give me_ , _the better_."

After finding and meeting up with Benny, Alphonse went with him as the two boys proceeded to go outside. As they walked, however, Alphonse and Benny overheard two female voices from around a corner, chuckling to themselves. Turning the corner, Alphonse and Benny saw the two same brutish girls that Alphonse spotted earlier; it was these two girls that were the source of the chuckling.

"Dude, the yelp of surprise that brace-faced dork let out when we shoved her into that locker was priceless!" the first brute said to her companion, "Hey, you think she's still in there?"

"Since we slammed the locker door shut and spun the dial lock a lot, she shouldn't be able to get out until someone lets her out," the other brute replied as she offered her friend a high-five, which was accepted. The two brutes continued to chuckle to themselves, ignorant of the fact that Benny and Alphonse were watching them from a distance, able to hear what they were saying.

"Dude, they're talking about having shoved a girl into a locker," Benny said to Alphonse.

"Yeah, and the girl apparently has braces," Alphonse added in a concerned tone. Giving Benny a mildly confused look, Alphonse asked, "You know of any girls here that have braces?"

Benny shook his head gently in the negative. "I don't know any such girl, I'm afraid," Benny remarked, then added while pointing at the two brutes, "It still doesn't change the fact that these girls have basically just confessed to having picked on another girl that has braces." At that point, Alphonse gave his friend a wry, knowing look, a look that made Benny realize what his friend was thinking about.

"If you're thinking about doing what I think that you're thinking about doing…" Benny said, a clear hint of amusement in his tone, "…Then count me in."

…

Alphonse, Benny, and the two girls were all scolded by their respective parents when they had to come by the school due to the four of them all getting into a fight, a fight that, from the looks of things, Benny and Alphonse won hands down. The four of them were all suspended for the rest of the week (that would only be two days, so it wasn't too bad), and all four of them were grounded by their respective parents for getting into a fight. As far as Alphonse and Benny both cared, the suspension and the groundings were worth it.

Since school had ended by that time, Ashe took Alphonse and his siblings that went to the school at the time home for the day. The last thing that Alphonse heard from the school was one teacher talking to another teacher about how she (the first teacher) found a girl that was shoved into one of the lockers, letting said girl out right away.

(END FLASHBACK)

That incident was years ago, Alphonse remembered as he got up from where he sat on his family's backyard patio. Dusting himself off a bit, Alphonse turned around and proceeded to try and proceeded to open the door that led into his family's kitchen. As soon as he did, he came face to face with Ashe.

"Oh, I was just about to come get you," Ashe said to her fourteen-year-old son, "I just got dinner ready."

"Alright," Alphonse replied as he proceeded to follow his mother into the house.

* * *

It was a normal enough Monday morning, a few weeks since the incident where (most of) the Loud sisters ganged up on and beat up Lincoln. The five youngest Ace siblings were dropped off at Royal Woods combined grades school before Allison, Aggro and Amy took off to the high school for their own lessons. When Astrid and her siblings walked into the school building, they heard a few students that were going about the place gossiping about something.

"What do you think all of this excitement is about?" Andy asked his siblings as he gestured to the hallway as a whole.

Gently shaking her head, Astrid said, "I have no clue, Andy. But we shouldn't let that bother us. Now come on, all of us should get to our classes."

"Good point," Alphonse remarked, right before the group broke away to go to their respective parts in the school. Andy mentioned something about a test that he and the rest of his class were all dreading, Argent said something about a project that he and Rocky had to go over, and Anna mentioned something about how her teacher said something about going over some new math. With the formalities all dealt with, everyone went their separate ways.

* * *

Being in Mrs. Johnson's class had its ups and downs, as far as Astrid was concerned. One of the major downs, if not the most major down, was the fact that Chandler, that conceited creepy jerk that kept trying to flirt with her, was in this class as well. Not helping this was the fact that Chandler sat across from Astrid in the next row; the half-Swedish half-Japanese girl remembered hearing about how Chandler convinced the student who sat in that desk before him to swap desks with him. Still, if Chandler ever gave her too much trouble, Astrid could always tell his cousin Kara that he's being annoying, and she was able to get him to back of, albeit temporarily.

One of the major _ups_ , however, was the fact that Clyde McBride was also in this class. Granted, Astrid hasn't seen Clyde walk in yet, but Astrid assumed that he'd be coming in eventually. As the white-haired Ace girl was fishing something out of her backpack, she heard two familiar male voices say, "Hi Ms. Johnson." Astrid recognized one of the voices right away as Clyde's; she could not mistake so cute a voice as anyone else's.

"Hello Clyde and…Lincoln?" Astrid heard Ms. Johnson's voice say in response. Astrid looked up right away when she heard what Ms. Johnson say; sure enough, Clyde, the cutest boy at school as far as Astrid was concerned, was standing there. But what really surprised Astrid was that Lincoln Loud was there as well, albeit wearing a cast on one of his arms. The white-haired Ace girl hadn't seen the sole Loud boy in quite some time.

Given that Lincoln had just returned after an extended absence, and with a cast on his arm no less, a lot of the students in class proceeded to pester him with questions, as well as exchange theories as to how Lincoln ended up with the cast in the first place. Astrid heard an African American girl in her class say, "Please, I heard that one of his sisters did it."

Looking over to where Lincoln and Clyde stood, Astrid saw that Lincoln looked a bit uncomfortable the moment that his sisters were mentioned. Remembering what she and her siblings had learned, Astrid knew that the subject of the Loud girls would not be a subject to go over when the sole Loud boy was present.

Astrid, ever the respectful girl, would be all too happy to respect Lincoln's feelings on the matter.

* * *

As the day dragged on, most of the students were, at best, paying only half-attention to the history lesson that Ms. Johnson was giving. Not even Astrid was immune to this, although she had what she considered to be a very justifiable excuse; she was daydreaming about Clyde riding up to her on the back of a white stallion.

Clyde, who in Astrid's daydream had long flowing hair, a muscular body and no shirt on, picked her up, sat her in front of him on his horse, then rode off with her into the sunset. The white-haired Ace girl wondered if Ronnie Anne, her friend, ever had a similar daydream where Lincoln rides up to her on a horse to whisk her off on a ride into the sun-

"AAAAAAAAH!" a male voice suddenly shouted, yanking Astrid out of her daydream, and dragging her attention and that of everyone else over to where Lincoln sat in the classroom. The sole Loud boy's textbook was stuck to his face, for some odd reason that Astrid for the life of her couldn't figure out. The whole classroom was completely quiet, aside from panicked breathing that was coming from Lincoln.

"…Is something wrong, Lincoln?" Ms. Johnson asked, concern clear in her tone.

"…C-can I use the bathroom? …" Lincoln replied, sounding sheepishly embarrassed.

The teacher, from what Astrid saw, gave Lincoln a look of consideration for a few seconds. After a brief pause, Ms. Johnson said, "You may." The white-haired boy gently pulled his textbook from his face and sat it down, got up from his desk, walked over to the wall where two passed hung, and grabbed one of said passes before leaving the classroom. As soon as Lincoln was out of there, the students began to mutter amongst themselves.

"Quit it," Ms. Johnson scolded the class in a firm tone, "I won't have any gossiping going on in my classroom." Turning back around to face the chalkboard, Mr. Johnson said, "Now then, as I was saying…" As Ms. Johnson began to drone on, most of the students resumed their half paying attention status. Astrid, one of the few who did not gossip right after Lincoln left, resumed what she had been doing prior to Lincoln's sudden shout distracting her; daydreaming about Clyde, the cutest boy in school.

Astrid bet that Clyde would look all the manlier riding on the back of a white stallion.

* * *

It was about lunch time that day, and Mitzie Cornwell, a fair-skinned girl with long yellow-blonde hair, wanted answers. Mitzie was a girl who was not originally born in Royal Woods. Hell, she wasn't even born in the United States, but rather in England. Her family moved from England to the United States when her father got a really great job; they at first settled in a city that was quite a bit away from Royal Woods; Mitzie estimated the distance to be either three hours from Royal Woods, or somewhere in the next state over. Mitzie didn't care though.

Then her family moved from that city to here in Royal Woods when her dad's position rose even higher. When she arrived in Royal Woods, looked different from how she currently looks; Mitzie's long yellow-blonde hair was worn casually and it had streaks of colors in it, and she wore a baggy hooded jacket that looked like the Union Jack, baggy jeans with torn knees, and large sneakers. The British girl was clearly trying to go for a punk girl look.

But Mitzie has since changed how she generally presents herself; Mitzie had done away with the colored streaks that were in her hair, going for full yellow-blonde, and had styled her hair into two side curly pigtails that reached halfway down her torso. Mitzie also wore a white long-sleeved shirt under a light gray sweater-vest, a plaid skirt that reached close to halfway down her legs, and socks that came up to about an inch under her knees. Mitzie had also wore a pair of brown shoes. The British girl had gotten comments on multiple occasions on how she could pass for a student at that one fictional school for kid wizards.

As Mitzie searched for the person that she wanted answers from, she was met up by Ulfric Aesir, someone else who Mitzie figured would be looking for the same person as herself. Although only thirteen years of age, same as Mitzie, Ulfric was notably taller than her; in fact, Ulfric was as tall as a certain fourteen-year-old girl who is inclined towards comedy.

Ulfric has long and somewhat wild-looking black hair. He wore a light brown long-sleeved shirt (its sleeve ends hung loosely around the wrists, rather than cling tightly to them) under a somewhat baggy t-shirt that resembled the Swedish flag (similar to how Mitzie was born in England, Ulfric was born in Sweden), a loose-fitting pair of cargo pants held up with a belt, and brown boots. Around Ulfric's neck was a necklace that had three bear claws as charms. He was also noticeably, but not excessively, strong of body; that, plus Ulfric's bear claw necklace and his long and wild black hair gave Ulfric the look of a wild warrior from a northern land of snow and cold.

"Top of the afternoon to you, Ulfric," Mitzie greeted, her British accent authentic rather than practiced, "What can I do you for?"

Giving Mitzie a wry and dry look, Ulfric replied, "I don't suppose you know where I can find Lynn, do you?"

"I was actually trying to find the bird meself," the British thirteen-year-old girl said, "Care to join me, guv?"

"I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to team up on this one," Ulfric replied as he proceeded go look around with Mitzie for any sign of the athletic Loud sister. The two foreign-born students were both having great difficulty in locating their target. However, as Mitzie and Ulfric went about in their search, they were approached by two six-year-old boys.

The first boy was fair skinned and had blonde hair that looked to be styled into a pompadour; he looked rather sharply dressed, what with the light blue vest under the purple jacket, light brown pants, dark brown shoes, and a light, almost pale, pink scarf. The second boy was also fair-skinned, but he had brown hair, along with freckles on his face. This second boy wore a green baseball cap, a long-sleeved light blue shirt with a (mechanical) grease stain on it, gray pants and white shoes. There was a smudge on the left knee of the boy's pants, and a scratch on the boy's left cheek.

"I don't suppose my friend and I can ask what you two are doing looking like you're looking for something, can we?" the second boy asked, giving Mitzie and Ulfric a curious look.

"We're trying to find Lynn Loud," Mitzie explained to the two boys, "I don't suppose either of you two know who we're talking about, do you?" In response to the British thirteen-year-old girl's question, both six-year-old boys gave troubled sighs.

"She's Lana's older sister," the second boy explained, clearly looking troubled about something. The first boy looked just as troubled as his friend. The troubled looks of the two boys did not go by unnoticed.

"Is there…something wrong, kids?" Ulfric asked, trying to be friendly and helpful.

"It's just…" the first boy began. He trailed off, sighed in a troubled tone, then went on to say, "…It's just that after Skippy here and I heard what Lola, Lana and their sisters did, well…it kind of took the wind out of our sails, to say the least."

"You two gents are familiar with some of Lynn's sisters, then," Mitzie remarked.

Nodding once in the affirmative, the first boy said, "Yes, we are." Gesturing to himself and to the second boy in that order, the first boy said, "By the way, I am Winston, and my good friend here, like I said, is Skippy."

"Why are you two trying to find Lana's older sister?" Skippy asked the two foreign-born teens.

"The poor bird's been a mess for a while," Mitzie explained, "Granted, both Ulfric and I heard about what Lynn and most of her sisters did, and it goes without saying that I can't believe their minds had all done a runner like that." Gently shaking her head before continuing, Mitzie went on, "But still, someone's got to snap some sense into those poor birds. And with how many people I've seen give up on Lynn and her sisters, more harm than good will be coming of this in the long run."

The two first-grade boys both nodded in agreement with Mitzie. When both boys looked back up at Mitzie and Ulfric, Skippy said, "I know something that may help you guys. Are either of you familiar with that Margo girl on the derby team?"

"I am familiar with Margo, yes," Ulfric replied, "Lynn, before quitting the football team, had on at least three occasions that I can remember tried to get Margo to join the football team." Crossing his arms over his chest, Ulfric asked, "Why? Do you think Margo may be able to help us find Lynn?"

"Winston and I actually saw Margo talk to Lynn earlier," Skippy explained, "The two of them were sitting down and talking. I'm not sure if Lynn is still where we saw her with Margo, but maybe Margo can help you track Lynn down again." Winston nodded in agreement with what his good friend had suggested to the two foreign-born students.

"Thanks, mates," Mitzie remarked as she gave a playful salute to the two six-year-old boys. Turning to face Ulfric, Mitzie said, "Come on, Conan, we got us a Lynn to find."

"Why does everyone keep calling me Conan?" Ulfric remarked, a hint of mild annoyance in his tone, as he proceeded to follow Mitzie off to find the athletic Loud sister.

* * *

Right when school ended for that day, Ronnie Anne could be seen making her way through one of the hallways of the main building of Royal Woods combined grades school. The Hispanic tomboy seemed to be moving with determination, with purpose. As she was making her way to the doors that led out of the school, out to freedom, Ronnie Anne stopped short when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"There you are, Ronnie Anne!" Astrid said as she quickly ran up to her friend, "Sorry I couldn't catch you during lunch, but I was struck trying to avoid Chandler."

"I'll pound him for you if you want when I'm done grilling my current target for intel," Ronnie Anne offered.

"I don't think that violence is really all that Hey wait a minute," Astrid replied. Realizing part of what her friend said, the white-haired Ace girl deviated midsentence in a confused tone. "What do you mean by 'grilling a current target for intel'?" Astrid asked, "Ronnie Anne, you aren't going to try and beat someone up, are you?"

"Unless Lynn gives me a reason to beat her up, then I'll refrain from rearranging her face," Ronnie Anne replied.

"Wait a minute!" Astrid nearly exclaimed, "You're planning to try and go after Lynn again?!" Shaking her head, Astrid continued, "Ronnie Anne, I know that you're tough, one of the toughest students here at school. But do you really think that going after Lynn with the intention to interrogate her is really the best idea in the world?"

With an indifferent shrug, Ronnie Anne replied, "I beat her before, remember?" Astrid knew what her friend was talking about; the incident over a week ago where Ronnie Anne and Lynn had that fight in the cafeteria. Granted, the fight technically ended before it could finish on its own, but from the looks of things, Ronnie Anne was going to beat Lynn. Astrid still wondered how it was possible because, with all due respect to Ronnie Anne, she (Astrid) highly doubted that even the Queen of Pain could beat the sporty Loud sister in a straight up one-on-one fight, with their aforementioned fight in the cafeteria being a fluke. The only student at Royal Woods combined grades school who Astrid believes actually could defeat Lynn in a straight up one-on-one fight is Ulfric Aesir, the school's football team's wide receiver and one of its star members. But Astrid highly doubted that Ulfric would actually ever _want_ to fight Lynn, even with word of what Lynn and her sisters had done going about the school.

Even so, Astrid could tell that her Hispanic friend was not going to be deterred. "Just…" Astrid said, "…Just try not to get into too much trouble, alright?"

"Hey, it's going to happen afterschool and away from school grounds," Ronnie Anne remarked, "No way I can get suspended again." With that, the Hispanic tomboy left the white-haired Ace girl in the hallway. Taking one of the straps from her backpack off from one of her shoulders so that said backpack was only slung over one shoulder, Ronnie Anne made her way to the door, but not before stopping suddenly, reaching into her pocket, fishing out her phone, then walking out the door for real, supposedly to wait for Lynn to show up. Astrid, for her own part, could not help but sigh.

This was going to end badly for Ronnie Anne. Astrid could just tell.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS, CHAPTER FIVE

Author's notes:

I originally had a scene in mind where Mitzie and Ulfric talked to Lynn shortly after Margo left (the kids in the cafeteria wouldn't have seen Mitzie and Ulfric speak to Lynn), but I decided to change things slightly so that I could have Winston and Skippy appear and give their two cents on what was going on. I'm considering doing the same with some other characters, such as Sam. However, I'm going to want to tread carefully when I do this. Anywho, the last scene of this chapter is set just before the first scene of chapter 24 of 'Syngenesophobia'. Speaking of which, I depicted the bullies from Luan's talk about her past with the good doctor as brutish girls for a few reasons, mostly because if the two girls were the preppy pretty kind of girl bully as opposed to the kind-of brutish kind of girl bully, and those two girls got into a fight with Alphonse and Benny, then regardless of who started the fight and why, then people would complain about two boys hitting girls.

By the way, as always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me. All credit for his story should go to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter six: The remainder of the week

The following day, which was a Tuesday, the five youngest Ace siblings made their way into Royal Woods combined grades school. After they all went about to do their thing, Astrid made a beeline for her locker, so she could pick up a few things before she headed off to her first class of the day. As she made her way to her locker, the half-Swedish half Japanese girl saw that Ronnie Anne, her closest friend, was nearby. Naturally, Astrid walked up to her. "Hey, Ronnie Anne," Astrid began in greeting, "How was-"

Astrid stopped short when something about her friend caught her attention. Walking up to the Hispanic tomboy, Astrid took a close look at her forehead; although the signs were fading, Astrid could still see that Ronnie Anne had taken a rather serious hit to her forehead, what with the faint bits of bruising. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking so," Astrid began as she pointed to Ronnie Anne's forehead, "How did _that_ happen?"

"I…" Ronnie Anne replied, "…Wasn't looking where I was going while I was out riding my skateboard yesterday, so I ended up getting rather acquainted with a light post."

"…" The white-haired Ace girl gave the Queen of Pain a dry, monotonous look. "…Lynn beat you when you confronted her yesterday, didn't she?" Astrid asked.

"…Yeah," Ronnie Anne admitted. This drew a resigned sigh from Astrid. The white-haired Ace girl had a feeling that Ronnie Anne's previous victory in the cafeteria was just a fluke. Astrid was about to give Ronnie Anne a mild scolding for antagonizing Lynn but stopped short when the Hispanic tomboy let out a yawn.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked, eyeing her friend in a concerned manner.

"Sorry, but I didn't get much sleep last night," Ronnie Anne explained, "Also, I had a bit of a meeting outside of the school a bit before you showed up just now." As Astrid's request, Ronnie Anne went into detail about the aforementioned meeting; apparently, Ronnie Anne, along with Clyde, Rusty, Liam, Zach, as well as the Loud sisters Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lola, and Lana, all met up with each other outside of the school.

To Astrid's shock, Ronnie Anne explained that, due to the severe beating he got, Lincoln is now completely terrified of his sisters (aside from the baby) to the point that he can't even be in the same room as any of them without freaking out; Astrid could not help but wonder if Lincoln waking up in class screaming yesterday was the result of having a nightmare about his sisters.

The party consisting of Lincoln's sisters and the party consisting of Lincoln's friends both have the same goal overall; trying to keep Lincoln calm. To that end, Lincoln's sisters were brought in on a plan that Lincoln's friends came up with to keep Lincoln from seeing any of his sisters; they were hammering out a base form of the plan the previous night with a texting session (which gave an answer to why Ronnie Anne was so tired), and the meeting that Ronnie Anne had with everyone involved hammering out some of the finer details for said plan.

"Sounds like it's as solid of a plan as any that I've ever heard before," Astrid remarked, "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

The Hispanic tomboy smiled in an appreciative manner. "Thanks, Astrid," Ronnie Anne replied, "Glad that I have a person like you that I can count on to have my back. Not all that surprising, considering who our respective older brothers are." Astrid let out a cute, amused giggle in response to the last part Ronnie Anne said before the two girls parted ways, as they both had to get to class, and both of them had different first periods.

* * *

The rest of that school day went by without much note, as did Tuesday and Wednesday. The only thing of note on any of those days was on Wednesday when Alphonse said that he passed with a perfect score on a test in the class that he has with Luan and those two other girls; from what Alphonse was able to gather, Luan also passed the test, although both of the other two girls got rather bad 'D' grades.

On Thursday, however, things picked up around the school a bit. "Attention students and teachers," the voice of Cheryl Reese, the school secretary, said as it was heard over the school announcement system, "Please make your way to the gymnasium for the school-wide mandatory assembly. Thank you." Astrid was in her class with Ms. Johnson when the announcement was made over the school announcement system.

" _There_ ' _s a school_ - _wide assembly today_?" Astrid thought as she began to gather up her stuff so that it wasn't all just laying around on her desk while she was at the assembly. Astrid heard some of her fellow classmates all groan in tones of complaint since Ms. Johnson said that they'd be picking up where they left off in their current lesson on multiplication. Just finishing up with gathering her things, Astrid got up from her desk just in time to see Lincoln and Clyde leave the classroom for the assembly.

Astrid knew that she had to make double-time if she were to get a seat as close as possible to that cute dark-skinned boy.

* * *

The gymnasium was close to being filled to the brim by the time Astrid and her classmates rolled in. The fifth graders were soon all seated in one of the rows of bleachers. The specific seating arrangements that ended up happening were both good news and bad news for Astrid; good news being that she was seated right behind Clyde, the boy of her dreams, and bad news being that Chandler, the boy of her nightmares, was seated next to Astrid on her right.

Looking around, Astrid soon spotted Lincoln talking to his friend Liam. Astrid couldn't really make out what the two boys were talking about due to how loud things were in the gymnasium, but from the looks of things, Liam seemed to be going into some story about the past, probably something about a crazy cousin or whatever; Ronnie Anne, who had heard more than a few such tales from Liam, had clued Astrid in on Liam's habit of rambling on.

Within short order, the principal got on stage, did a mike check, then proceeded to go on with the assembly once he saw that the mike was working properly. As it turned out, the assembly was called due to the fact that a number of fights had taken place at the school within the last couple of weeks, and there were at least five suspensions that resulted from said fights. The principal proceeded to go on about how a new punishment involving adding a week of ISS (in school suspension) in addition to the more or less standard three days of suspension away from school will be implemented. This, of course, made pretty much every student moan in complaint.

When the principal finished his bit, the counselor proceeded to go on about the benefits of ISS, although this proceeded to bore the snot out of most, if not all, of the gathered students, and at least three teachers as well; Astrid even spotted the school's resident 'cool teacher' pull a hand-held game system out from his right front pocket, flip it open, then begin playing the updated version of the second version of that one game where a kid gets a watch that lets him or her talk to Japanese spirits.

The counselor went on about how it's bad to fight in school, and that it disrupts the school environment and blah-de-blah-de-blah, but at that point, a lot of the students had either began to more or less zone out. Astrid herself began to think about what she could do to get Clyde to notice her; in all of the chaos that had popped up ever since Astrid and her siblings learned of what (most of) the Loud sisters had done to Lincoln, Astrid was unable to carry out her older brother Aggro's suggestion of leaving a love letter to Clyde in his locker, or otherwise some place where the bespectacled African American boy can find it.

Astrid considered bringing in the aforementioned Lincoln to help her, given that he and Clyde are best friends; after all, who at Royal Woods combined grades school would know Clyde better than Clyde's best friend? However, as Astrid began to think about how to go about getting Lincoln to help her (maybe Astrid can get Ronnie Anne to help in this regard), she remembered the incident back on Monday of that week, where Lincoln, asleep in class, shot awake suddenly while screaming in fear, as if he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. A nightmare that the white-haired Ace girl suspected had something to do with his sisters.

Especially with what Ronnie Anne told her about how Lincoln is actually _afraid_ of his sisters.

As Astrid began to consider options on what she could do to try and help Lincoln, the counselor finished his bit, and within very short order, the students were dismissed to go to their next classes. The half-Swedish half-Japanese girl was relieved to get out of there, if only because Chandler would no longer be right next to her. And she wouldn't have to wait very long to get away from the creepy conceited boy as a whole, since Chandler wasn't in her next class.

Astrid began to follow some of her classmates out of the gymnasium, hearing bits and pieces of what some of the students around her were saying to others as everyone filed out of the place. She heard a few rude comments such as, "Watch where you're walking nerds!" coming from a distance away, but Astrid paid it no mind, especially since it was too far away to clearly be aimed at her. Within short order, Astrid made her way out of the gymnasium.

In the halls, Astrid tried to make her way to where she was supposed to go, but the large mass of students, most of which were still flooding from the gymnasium, were kind of making it difficult for Astrid to move about as freely as she would like. She eventually gained some freedom, and this allowed her to make more or less of a beeline for her destination. Soon, Astrid would be rid of that creep that insisted that he and her should totally go-

Astrid stopped suddenly as, when she happened to look over in one area of the hallway by chance, she saw Lincoln, who looked to have apparently fallen over onto the floor of the hallway, was almost stepped on by some eighth-grade boy that Astrid recognized as someone who Alphonse often had to deal with. However, before Alphonse's opponent could actually step on Lincoln, said opponent was shoved to the floor by Lincoln's older sister Luan. A glare from the comedic Loud sister was enough to make Alphonse's opponent pick himself up and scurry off like a frightened animal that had its tail between its hind legs.

The large mass of students in the hallway began to dissipate, granting Astrid a somewhat better view as she saw Luan help Lincoln to his feet and get him out of the ongoing stampede of students going about their post-school assembly business. Astrid did not see what happened between Luan and Lincoln beyond that, but the fact that she saw Luan escort Lincoln out of there did get her thinking.

Astrid was aware of what the Loud sisters, aside from the baby, had done to Lincoln, and thanks to Ronnie Anne cluing her in on the matter, Astrid also knew that Lincoln was afraid of his sisters who had a hand in what happened to him, a fear that Astrid suspected was why Lincoln was screaming when he woke up in class on Monday. And yet Luan, one of the responsible sisters, just stopped some random jerk from stepping on Lincoln, helped Lincoln up off of the floor, and got Lincoln out of the mess that was everyone trying to go to their next classes.

Astrid, as she went about her business herself, hoped that Lincoln's fear of his sisters would be alleviated somewhat by what Luan did for him to get him out of that trouble in the hallway, if at the very least towards just Luan herself.

* * *

After school ended for that day, Astrid went home with her siblings who attended Royal Woods combined grades school with her. When Astrid, along with Alphonse, Andy, Argent and Anna, all walked through the front door, they saw that Aggro and Amy were already home. Asking where Allison was, Aggro explained to Astrid that Allison took Fenrir for a walk to the nearby park, expecting to meet up with Carol Pingrey, who would be walking her corgi at the park. Astrid for the life of her had no idea that a corgi, normally reported to be a friendly and playful breed, could be so hostile, although for some odd reason that Astrid has yet to figure out, Carol's corgi is always on his best behavior whenever Fenrir is nearby.

After Astrid, as well as her siblings who go to the same school as her, had all homework finished, Astrid went to her room, picked up her handheld game system, and proceeded to grind some levels for the creatures in her party; Astrid's party included her favorite creature, a large orange tiger-dog that had black stripes and could manipulate fire to some degree. As the white-haired Ace girl grinded for levels, she heard her phone go off, so she picked up her phone and, seeing the caller ID identify the caller as Ronnie Anne, answered the call after putting her handheld game system into sleep mode.

"Hey, Ronnie Anne," Astrid greeted in a friendly tone, "What's up? You need me to help you with some homework, I take it?"

"Today was a spectacular disaster when it came to what Lincoln's friends, Lincoln's sisters and I were trying to do in keeping Lincoln both safe and from seeing his sisters," Ronnie Anne began in a tone of complaint, "That school-wide assembly was something that none of us were counting on, and because of it, the Sibling Avoidance System we were using didn't work because Lincoln had an encounter with Luan in the hallways!"

"I…I see," Astrid replied, allowing her friend to get everything off her chest. As Ronnie Anne rambled on, Astrid thought back to when, while Lincoln was still recovering in the hospital, she herself had gone to see him. Astrid had gone with Ronnie Anne to see how the sole Loud boy was doing. Astrid and Ronnie Anne weren't alone on that visit, either; escorting them were their respective older brothers Aggro and Bobby. It was on that visit that Aggro saw for the first time the extent of the damage that Lincoln had suffered in his beating at the hands of the Loud girls.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Astrid asked once the Hispanic tomboy finished her bit.

"Well, it's clear that Lincoln's friends, Lincoln's sisters and I are going to have to do a complete overhaul of the Sibling Avoidance System so that it can be carried out effectively when there are events that involve the whole school," Ronnie Anne remarked, "Because until Lincoln recovers, there is no way that he can even get close to any of his sisters, aside from Lily, without going into a massive freak out."

"I can probably throw a few ideas your way," Astrid remarked.

"Really?" Ronnie Anne replied, "Oh, that would be really-" Ronnie Anne was cut off when there was some commotion on her end of the call. "Ugg," the Hispanic tomboy moaned in complaint, "Astrid, I'm going to have to call you back." Without another word, Ronnie Anne hung up, leaving Astrid be. A bit confused, the white-haired Ace girl nonetheless placed her phone on her nightstand before going back to her game.

* * *

That evening during dinner, the Ace siblings were all eating at the table with their mother Ashe. "So, kids," Ashe began, "Anything interesting happen today?"

"I…believe that I may have to reconsider my opinion on Lori and her sisters," Allison began, "At least to some degree."

"Oh?" Aggro remarked, his tone clearly caring a hint of mildly piqued interest, "And here I thought you have violently swore off the Loud girls forever."

"Don't get me wrong," Allison began to explain, "If any of them do try to do to any of my siblings what they did to their brother, then I will still send any and all responsible straight to Loki's daughter." With a gentle shake of her head, the female Ace twin continued, "But I can see now that matters are not so simple in this case. The girls were not in their right mind, either because they were all overcome by warrior's madness, or perhaps they were all deceived by the trickery of Loki into thinking that their brother was an enemy." With a troubled sigh, Allison ended her bit by saying, "I see now that, although I was still acting with the safety and well-being of those who I love in mind, I had been rather harsh that day when Amy and I confronted Lori, Leni and Luna in the library."

"That's…wow," Amy remarked, surprised that her older sister was showing such maturity in this case. She didn't even quite know what to say.

"Can I assume that this means you're going to try and talk things out with Lori, and maybe her sisters as well, the next time you see any of them?" Aggro asked.

With a shrug, Allison replied, "Assuming they will let me. I mean, I did kind of put the fear of Odin into them."

With a mildly amused smile, Aggro said, "Maybe Amy and I can go with you, to help try and explain things to the Loud girls."

Allison looked up from her dinner to over where her twin sat at the table. "…That might be needed, thanks," Allison remarked.

"So, anything else?" Ashe asked her children.

"There was an assembly at school today," Astrid began to explain, "The principal had that assembly so he could tell everyone about some changes he was making to punishments for anyone caught fighting at school. Then again, there _has_ been a number of fights at school over the past couple of weeks."

"I trust that you are not going to get into any trouble where you will end up receiving any of those punishments?" Ashe remarked.

"Mom, you know that I never get into trouble at school," Astrid replied, "There's no need to worry about me."

"I think that I saw one of the teachers pull out a hand-held video game system and began playing video games during the assembly," Argent remarked.

"Yeah, I remember seeing that myself," Alphonse said in a tone of agreement.

"That…" Ashe said, "…Doesn't sound very responsible of him or her."

"Mom, lecture-type assemblies like the one at school earlier today are boring as all get out," Andy began to explain in something of a dry tone, "Personally, I can't honestly blame the guy for pulling out a video game and using it to kill some time. Heck, if I had something like a video game or something to read with me, I would have pulled it out during the assembly too."

"I was daydreaming about the boy that I have a crush on during the assembly," Astrid admitted, looking mildly embarrassed.

"I'd probably get some sleep during such an assembly," Allison stated.

Ashe sighed in a resigned tone as the conversation between her children shifted to school assemblies, and what they'd doing if they were forced to attend such a gathering.

* * *

Astrid, as she was getting ready for bed that night, was wearing a sleep outfit consisting of a pair of pale light orange sleep pants and a tank top of the same color. Astrid sat at a desk in her room as she wrote in a diary about the events of the day. She wrote the usual bit about her crush on Clyde, and then shifted gears to go on about the assembly.

Astrid made a note about how she saw the encounter between Lincoln and Luan in the hallways earlier that day, which ended up being connected to the phone call Astrid had with Ronnie Anne later after school was out for the day. From what Astrid had been told about Lincoln developing a fear of his sisters (aside from the baby) due to the beating he received from them, she figured that the white-haired boy would have freaked upon seeing his comedic older sister. But nothing along those lines happened; in fact, Luan, after saving Lincoln from the stampede, left without saying another word. Astrid had no idea what to make of that.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER SIX

Author's notes:

I…really kind of had to push myself when it came to wrapping up this chapter. Speaking of chapters, the next one may not be for a while, given that, at this point, this story is more or less caught up to 'Syngenesophobia' chronologically speaking. I'm wanting to wait until a few more chapters of 'Syngenesophobia' comes out, both so that I have more material to work with and to avoid contradicting the original material. As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter seven: Making repairs

It was a well enough Friday morning at Royal Woods combined grades school. Astrid Ace, an eleven-year-old half Swedish half Japanese girl in the school's fifth grade year, was getting something out of her locker. After getting what she needed and closing her locker, she heard a familiar female voice said, "I don't suppose you got any word from Ronnie Anne about how Lincoln is doing, did you?" Turning around, Astrid came face-to-face with Kara, the thirteen-year-old cousin of that creepy Chandler creep who gives Astrid the creeps. To her credit, Kara herself is nothing like her younger cousin.

Astrid would be lying if she said no. However, after hearing the extent of how Lincoln Loud is doing as a result of what his sisters (minus the baby) did to him, the mixed heritage girl was not all that certain if it was information she could hand out all willy-nilly. Gently shaking her head, Astrid said, "Sorry, Kara. I have no clue." Giving the girl two years her senior a curious look, Astrid asked, "Are you still looking to have your video game battle with Lincoln?"

"I'd…be lying if I said no," Kara replied, a hint of embarrassment on her face. Astrid could not help but giggle at least a little bit; although she was a seventh grader, the only people Kara really felt comfortable hanging out with as friends were a few grades below her. But then again, Kara is one of the very few seventh graders at the combined grades school to NOT have a keen interest in sports. It made the cousin of Chandler rather unique in that regard.

"…Well," Astrid began with a hint of mischievousness in her tone, "Until Lincoln becomes available for you to have your battle with, why don't I challenge you instead?" Taking off her backpack, Astrid set it down, open a front pouch, and pulled out a handheld video game system. "There's at least a good twenty minutes before the bell rings, so we should have time for one quick battle," the white-haired Ace girl said.

Kara, with an amused smirk on her face, continued, "Sure, why not? And hey, I even have an idea on how to make it interesting." Her curiosity piqued, Astrid allowed Kara to explain herself. "…If you win, then I'll have to treat you to ice cream at Frozen King after school today," Kara said, an amused smile on her face, "But if I win, well…" With a sly grin, Kara said, "…You aren't allowed to date my cousin Chandler ever." With an amused laugh, Astrid agreed to the terms that the older girl set forth.

It was a battle that Astrid hoped she'd lose.

* * *

Later that day after she ate lunch, Astrid was making her way to the library. However, the white-haired Ace girl froze in place, and for a very good reason; Clyde, the boy of her dreams, was making his way to a locker. Out of the corner of his eye, Clyde saw Astrid just standing there, but didn't pay her too much mind as he got something out of his locker. When he was done, Clyde closed his locker's door, having removed a book of some kind. Looking over to where Astrid was, Clyde saw, to his mild puzzlement, that she was still standing there.

The bespectacled boy had no idea what was going on with Astrid exactly; he had caught her staring at him for periods at a time on at least two occasions so far today. Counting this encounter, Clyde had caught Astrid staring at him three times today. Normally, this behavior from Astrid would have creeped Clyde out to some degree, but Astrid had never been known to cause anyone any harm. She was just a friendly and kind, albeit somewhat shy, girl as far as Clyde knew.

Astrid, gathering as much courage as she could, decided to try to approach the African American child. "Umm," Astrid began, clearly sounding nervous, "H-hi, Clyde."

"Is…there something I can help you with?" Clyde asked, sounding slightly confused more than anything else.

"Well," Astrid began as she started to blush, "There w-was something t-that I was h-hoping to a-ask you a-a-about." Astrid could not believe that she was talking to Clyde one-on-one like this; the half Swedish half Japanese girl could feel her face heat up as she spoke to her crush more and more like this.

"Well, what is it?" Clyde asked, slowly growing more curious about what Astrid wanted.

"Umm, w-well," Astrid began as she tried to reply, "I w-was wondering if y-you'd, umm, if t-there was a chance t-that you'd b-be-" Astrid could not continue speaking at that point due to how nervous she had gotten; the words were simply dying in her throat at this point. Unable to keep herself calm any longer, Astrid turned around and dashed off rather quickly, a noticeable amount of blushing on her face.

Clyde was left at a loss for words about that Astrid girl. Gently shaking his head, Clyde muttered to himself, "…Maybe Ronnie Anne can give me an explanation about that friend of hers." Taking a look at the time, Clyde decided that he ought to get going, so he proceeded to head towards his destination.

* * *

The following day saw the Aces off from school, as it was a Saturday. Aggro, walking down the stairs to the ground floor of his family's house, made a turn before he headed into the dining room on his way to the kitchen. As the male Ace twin passed through the dining room, he saw his twin sister Allison at the table, drinking from a can of Moonberry Cola. From the looks of it, Allison seemed to be waiting for something. This caught Aggro's attention.

"Are…you waiting for something, Allison?" Aggro asked.

"Yeah, I'm expecting a guest," Allison replied as Aggro, who had stopped, slowly continued on his way to the kitchen. This caught Aggro's attention; Allison never mentioned to anyone about expecting a guest. Curious, Aggro turned to face his older twin sister fully.

"…Why didn't you mention anything?" Aggro asked. Aggro took a quick look at the time on the wall; it was a little more than a quarter past noon. Looking back to Allison, Aggro continued, "If a friend of yours is coming from-" Aggro was cut off when there was a knock at the front door. This knocking made Fenrir, who laid on the floor on Allison's right side, get up and start barking in the loud, booming tone that if often associated with him.

"Hush, Fenrir," Allison said as she got up from the table, getting the Tibetan Mastiff to stop almost instantly (he let out two more barks and some confused whining before actually stopping). Walking around the table, Allison made her way out of the dining room before she headed over to the front door. Opening it, Allison said as she saw the guest, "About time you got here. We have much to discuss."

"I'm literally surprised that you even invited me over here again," a female voice that struck Aggro as familiar said. A few seconds later, Aggro saw his sister lead Lori Loud into the dining room. "Your call could not have come at a better time, Allison," the oldest Loud sibling remarked, "My family and I have just gotten back from getting some stuff out of storage and-" Lori paused when her gaze fell upon Aggro. "…Oh," Lori said, her voice and tone sounding somewhat subdued, as if Lori were regretful, "…Hello, Aggro."

The male Ace twin could hear the hesitation in Lori's tone, could see it in her body language. "…Just so you know," Aggro began as he took a casual leaning position against the one wall in the dining room, "I am not going to grill you. Or any of your sisters, for that matter." Giving the oldest Loud sister a knowing look, Aggro added, "From what I've been hearing, the rest of the school-aged populace here in Royal Woods have seen to that."

"Yeah," Lori remarked in a resigned tone, a regretful look on her face, "Words travels fast in a place like Royal Woods." Turning to face Allison, Lori continued, "Anywho, I'm still a little surprised that you called me over. I mean, I thought you swore my sisters and I off forever."

"Yes, I remember that day in the library," Allison replied. With a sigh, Allison continued, "That is part of why I called you over. But before we get to our discussion, it would be showing bad hospitality if I were not to offer you a drink." Arching an eyebrow in a manner that suggested some manner of self-amusement, Allison continued, "I'm pretty sure your parents would not want you drinking mead, but I do have Moonberry Cola."

"…She can also grab a can of my Sunhoney Root Beer if she wants one," Aggro half added half offered. The generosity shown by the male Ace twin made Lori smile in an appreciative manner. After all, it has been a rather long time since peers in her age group had shown Lori any amount of kindness.

…

"So, here's the deal," Allison began as she and Lori sat across from each other at the table in the Ace family dining room, both girls with one can each of Moonberry Cola in their hands. "With all due respect," Allison continued, "My threat from the library that day still stands. I'm sorry, but I do not take kindly to any danger or threat made to any of my siblings, and if any such danger is presented to them, I take it seriously and react accordingly."

"I understand completely," Lori replied guiltily, her tone subdued.

After taking a swig from her soda, Allison said, "However." The tone that the female Ace twin used caught Lori's attention, piqued her interest. "I believe that I may have been too hasty in my actions that day," Allison went on, "I never considered the possibility that you and your sisters had acted in the heat of the moment without any thought of what you were actually doing, that you were all overcome by warrior's madness."

"…" Lori looked down at her can of Moonberry Cola as she said in the same guilty tone, "I guess that's one way to say that my sisters and I lost our minds that night a few weeks ago."

"…Everyone who I spoke to on the matter was right," Allison remarked, a hint of knowingness in her tone. Hearing that made Lori look up at the female Ace twin.

"Huh?" Lori said, sounding mildly confused.

Shifting in her seat a bit, Allison said, "You and your sisters clearly regret what you lot have done. What's more, all of the hate coming from everyone who knows what you and your sisters have done is only serving to make you feel worse."

"…It's not like we don't deserve it," Lori remarked, the hint of shame and regret returning to her tone after the brief bit of confusion surfaced, "After all, because of the beating we gave him, Lincoln's now afraid of us."

"Your…" Aggro began, his eyes widened a bit out of shock, "…Your brother is afraid of you and your sisters?"

"Aside from Lily," Lori remarked in a confirming manner. With a resigned sigh, Lori added, "But then again, why wouldn't he be afraid of us? After all, the nine of us did gang up on Lincoln and gave him was is without a doubt the worst beating that anyone probably has ever suffered." A stray tear fell down the right side of Lori's face. "My…my little brother is afraid of my sisters and I…" Lori said, her tone barely above a whisper, "…Barely even able to send us a simple text."

"He sent a text to one of you?" Allison asked, her interest piqued. Aggro's interest was likewise piqued as well.

Gently nodding once in the affirmative, Lori said, "I got it specifically. Granted, it was just a very simple text where he was just saying hi, but…" With a shudder that signified she was trying to keep herself from crying, Lori continued, "…But he contacted one of us. Lincoln…Lincoln actually contacted one of us."

"He is recovering, then," Aggro remarked casually, making Lori look up and over where he was standing.

"He's recovering?" the oldest Loud sibling repeated, looking mostly confused; and yet, there was also a bit of hope in there as well.

With a single nod in the affirmative, Aggro explained, "If you and your sisters really did beat your brother to the point that he developed a fear of all of you girls aside from the baby, then he probably wouldn't feel comfortable making any sort of contact with any of you." Shifting his position slightly so that he fully faced Lori, Aggro continued, "And yet, if what you say about Lincoln sending you a text message, however brief said text message may have been, is true, then it's a sign your brother is slowly but surely overcoming his fear, that he's recovering."

Lori wasn't quite sure what to say in response to the male Ace twin's words; Lori and her sisters were fearing that their only brother would never recover, that he would remain terrified of all of them (aside from Lily) until the day he died. But…but Lincoln _did_ send Lori that text message, and Aggro suggested that the text message was a sign that Lincoln was slowly on the mend. If that were true (could Lori even dare to hope it was?), then maybe there was a chance that Lori and the rest of the Loud sisters would get to have their only brother back once more.

It would literally be one of the best things that Lori could ever get.

"I believe that we're getting a bit off subject," Allison remarked, getting both Lori and Aggro to look at her. To the oldest Loud sibling, Allison said, "It is clear that you and your sisters regret what you have done, right?"

"Yes," Lori replied, right away and without hesitation.

"Is it safe to say that you and your lot will never act in such a manner ever again," Allison continued, "That you would take back what happened if you could…" With a hint of serious knowingness in her tone, Allison added as she leaned a bit closer to Lori, "…That you would never act in such a manner towards the kin and clan of _other people_?" Lori nodded in the affirmative to all three points of Allison's points. With a hint of satisfaction in her still serious expression, Allison twin leaned back in her seat.

"…I am glad to see that it was worth it to have you over," Allison remarked, "To discuss the terms of us reforging our allegiance to one another."

"Wait," Lori said, a surprised look on her face, "What?"

With a somewhat wry look on her face, Allison explained, "If you are willing to allow it, I would like to once again consider you as an ally, as a friend." With a sigh, Allison went on to say, "I know that I had been rather harsh, especially on that day in the library. But then again, I was riled up by what I had been told. I acted in the heat of the moment, without giving much thought to anything. I suppose, in a way, that makes you and I similar."

Lori was not quite sure what to say; pretty much her _entire_ social circle had abandoned her, had left her to the dogs. And yet here Allison was, offering to try and rebuild the bridge between them. Did…did Lori even deserve to have this? To have an ex-friend of hers try to become her friend once again? The oldest Loud sibling did not quite know what to think. Still, Lori figured that she had to give a response.

"Are…" Lori began in a somewhat quiet tone, still sounding like she had trouble believing all of this, "…Are you sure you want to do this?"

"…You are unsure if you deserve my friendship once again," Allison remarked, able to right away guess what Lori was feeling. After the meek nod in the affirmative from Lori, Allison said, "I believe that it is up to the person offering it if you are considered worthy of their friendship or not. I believe that you are worthy, and if there are any naysayers who were to question it, then to Hel with them."

Lori could not believe it; she was actually getting a friend back. She thought that something like this would never happen, not that she thought that she deserved to have it happen. In fact, she couldn't care less if she went friendless for the rest of her life, so long as her little brother came back to her and the rest of the family, that he returned to being the geeky, comic book-loving little twerp that she'd always knew him as.

Speaking of Lincoln…

"…Allison," Lori began, getting Allison and Aggro's attention, "I know that this might be asking a lot, especially since we just became friends again-"

"Aha!" Allison cheered in an amused tone, interrupting Lori in the process, "It is great to hear that you accepted my allegiance once again!"

Smiling a bit despite herself, Lori said, "…Yeah. Well anywho, like I was trying to say, I know that this might be asking a lot of you, but I was wondering if you can help me with something."

"What do you have in mind?" Allison asked.

"Well, I told you and your brother here how Lincoln is now afraid of my sisters and I," Lori began, "It's so bad that he's actually had nightmares, from what I've heard. I…" Shuddering a bit, Lori continued with a bit of hesitation in her tone, "…My sisters and I can't even get close to Lincoln without him freaking out." Looking to Allison more directly, Lori said, "I was going to ask if you had any ideas on what can be done to help my brother, do you?"

"Actually, Lori," Aggro said as he spoke up, getting both girls to turn to face him, "I have an idea on something that can be done for your brother. Assuming that you are okay with it."

"If there is anything you think can help my brother, then please do it," Lori remarked to the male Ace twin, her tone almost begging. Aggro nodded once in understanding before turning around to head into the kitchen to get another can of his Sunhoney Root Beer. This left Lori and Allison alone in the dining room.

"…While I have you here," Allison said to Lori in an almost casual conversational tone, "I figured that you might be interested in hearing about the rumors surrounding Bobby."

"…Oh…" Lori remarked, her tone acquiring a hint of being deflated.

"Since Bobby is still single ever since he voluntarily ended his role as your champion," Allison went on, "I have been hearing rumors about who Bobby might want to go out with next."

"I…I see…" Lori replied as she looked down at her Moonberry Cola, a hint of heartbreak in her tone; sure, she knew that she and her Boo-Boo Bear were over now, but it still made her heart ache knowing that Bobby might be going out with some other girl. Looking up at Allison, Lori asked, "…Who did you hear were some of Bobby's choices?"

"The first one I heard was Carol Pingrey," Allison remarked. Lori could not help but scoff upon hearing this; it was bad enough that Bobby was no longer her boyfriend, but to hear him potentially going out with Carol Pingrey? Lori would instantly believe she didn't deserve to see Bobby's arms around Carol if it wasn't for the fact that she (Lori) did have a role in beating Lincoln to the point that he was terrified.

"The list does not end there," Allison continued, snapping Lori out of her thoughts, "There is also Trixie Goldman. You remember her, right?" Lori nodded once in the affirmative before Allison continued. "…Other potential romantic interests for Bobby include Sasha St. Clair," the female Ace twin said, "Valery Brownstone, Catherine Freeman…" Leaning forward a bit towards Lori, Allison finished with a hint of amusement in her tone, "…And Aggro."

The two girls were both surprised when they heard someone spit out a mouthful of drink. Turning in the appropriate direction, the two girls saw Aggro standing there, looking like he had just spit out a mouthful of Sunhoney Root Beer out of sheer surprise. Casting a mildly startled look at his older twin sister, Aggro said, "Allison, please tell me that I misheard you just now."

With a gentle shake of her head, Allison said, "No, brother, your hearing is perfect. Some of the girls at our school seem to believe that Bobby may be interested in becoming your champion."

With a mildly annoyed sigh, Aggro muttered something in an annoyed tone as he made a beeline for his bedroom so he could get some clean clothes on. After Aggro left, Lori could not help but sigh in an irate and annoyed tone. Sure, she and Bobby were no longer an item, but Lori would be lying to herself if she didn't admit to still loving Bobby, hence why it annoyed her to hear about Bobby potentially dating other people.

…Although even Lori had to admit she did not see the idea of Bobby potentially dating Allison's twin brother coming.

* * *

That evening at the Ace family residence, long after Lori returned home, the Ace siblings were hanging out in the living room. Allison, Amy and Alphonse were watching something on TV while sitting on the sofa, Argent was reading a book, Andy and Astrid were playing on handheld video game systems, Anna was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa watching TV, and Aggro was talking on the phone to someone.

"So, how was your meeting with Lori earlier, Allison?" Amy asked as the show they were all watching reached a commercial break.

"It went well," Allison replied, "And she can count on me if things get really tough for her in the coming days."

"If you're friends with Lola and Lana's older sister again," Anna began as she turned to face her oldest sister, "Then does that mean I can be friends with Lola and Lana again?"

"I was under the impression that you never stopped being friends with the Loud twins, Anna," Amy remarked in a mildly confused tone.

"Well," the youngest Ace began to reply, "I still like them, but I haven't been able to play with them since before all of the bad stuff involving their older brother happened." With a mildly sad look on her face, Anna added, "I'm still worried about them."

"Be at ease, little one," Allison said, "Lori's younger brother isn't the only one in need of mending. And not all of the mending that is needed is of a physical nature." Rolling her shoulders somewhat, the female Ace twin continued, "However, just as Lori seemed relieved to have my support once more, I am certain that the twins will be thankful to know that they still have your allegiance."

"Not that they have ever lost it," Alphonse remarked, drawing a nod of agreement from Allison and Amy.

Over where Aggro was talking on a phone, he could be heard talking to someone who, judging from the few clues one would be able to ascertain, had to be Bobby Santiago. Form the sounds of the conversation, Aggro was telling his closest friend about some rumors going about at their school. Rumors that Aggro had picked up from his older twin sister, with a particular rumor from that lot being something that Aggro and Bobby had to do some damage control on when they both got back to school on Monday.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER SEVEN

Author's notes:

…Yeah, I had to make sure that Lori stopping by the Ace residence would not interfere with the trip to pick stuff up from storage, given that said trip and the meeting at the Ace residence both take place on the same Saturday. I was also a bit hesitant to include that joke about the options Bobby had to chose from when it came to romantic interests he could go out with given that he and Lori were no longer an item. Anywho, I'll probably lead the next chapter with Sunday before taking everything back to school. This is assuming, of course, that there will be enough stuff happening in 'Syngenesophobia' on that Sunday for me to have some material to work with; if not, then things will just skip straight to Monday.

As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter eight: The goings on of others

It was a typical Sunday evening for Sejuani Ace, the aunt of Ashe and grandaunt of the Ace siblings. …Well, it was as typical for the older Swedish woman as possible. Normally at around this time, Sejuani would go to her favorite bar in Great Lakes City, an establishment that looked somewhat traditional to what people normally think of when you ask them about bars, as opposed to more modern bars that are seen every so often. Think 'Moe's Tavern'. But I digress.

Sejuani had actually entered a bar located in Royal Woods, the city where her niece and said niece's children lived.

The older woman wasn't alone either; she actually went into the bar, also a traditional bar like her usual watering hole, with a Hispanic couple in her general age group. These people, Hector and Rosa Casagrande, were both friends of Sejuani's. Hector especially, as he, along with a white-haired man named Albert, were friends of Sejuani's from the war. That trio made quite a name for themselves when they were responsible for a major victory for their battalion.

But I digress.

"So Hector," Sejuani said after she and her friends settled at a table and got some drinks, "You said something about relocating your business?"

"I did the research," the older Hispanic man began, "And if I were to relocate my bodega here to Royal Woods, then I would see an easy twenty-five percent increase to my profits, especially if I take care to stock some of the popular local snacks here." Hector took a break in his explanation to take a swig from his mug. Finished, Hector set his mug back down before continuing, "Plus, my daughter Maria and grandchildren Bobby and Ronnie Anne live here in Royal Woods."

"It would be nice to see the lot of them more frequently," Rosa remarked before taking a sip of her tea; Rosa was the group's designated driver. "In fact, I'm hoping to see them at some point before we return to Great Lakes City."

"It's for a reason similar to that that I asked to tag along," Sejuani remarked, "I myself have relatives living here in Royal Woods." The older Swedish woman took a swig from her beer mug before continuing, "Also, Hector, an old friend of ours from the war lives here in Royal Woods."

"Really?" Hector asked, his tone showing that his interest was piqued, "Who is it? A number of our fellow battalion members are still alive, after all."

"It's Albert," Sejuani remarked, "You remember him, right? How the three of us pretty much single handedly carried out that mission our battalion had that won us a major victory?"

"Ah ha!" the older Hispanic man remarked in a good-natured tone, "I remember him!" Taking another swig from his beer mug before continuing, Hector said, "A shame about Albert's foul mood right now, though."

Sejuani gave Hector a look of piqued curiosity. Rosa likewise looked the same way, and was even the quicker to act on her curiosity. "What do you mean, dear?" Rosa asked her husband.

"Albert told me a few weeks ago about some major drama his daughter's family went through," Hector began to explain to both women at the table with him, "He didn't give me all the details, but he did tell me that he's so disappointed in most of his grandchildren that he went to some senior's campground retreat to cool off." After another swig of his mug, Hector continued, "He also said that he was going to bring his fishing rod with him so he could take advantage of the big lake at the campground, so there's no doubt Albert will be gone for a while. Heck, he may still be out at the moment, for all we know."

"…Interesting," Sejuani remarked, allowing Hector and Rosa to dominate the rest of the conversation with details about the potential bodega relocation. The older Swedish woman simply sat there, contemplating what her old friend from the war just said about their mutual friend, also from the war.

Sejuani could not help but be worried about her white-haired friend.

* * *

The following day was Monday which, for the school-aged populace of Royal Woods, meant a return to either the combined grades (K-8) school or the high school, depending on grade. Over at Royal Woods combined grades school, it was actually around lunch time. As such, this saw Astrid eating lunch with her siblings who also attended the combined grades school, although they were also joined by Kara. The cousin of Chandler having lunch with the Ace siblings had become an increasingly common occurrence as of late.

"…Wait," Kara said to Astrid as the group's conversation reached a point about kids in their respective grades, "You mean McBride? That dark-skinned kid with the glasses who hangs out with Lincoln?"

"Y-yes," the white-haired Ace girl said, a hint of resigned embarrassment in her tone.

"Ha!" laughed the thirteen-year-old gamer girl, "Won't that put a thorn in my cousin's butt! Finding out the girl he's crushing on is crushing on McBride!"

"Hush!" Astrid hurriedly exclaimed, "Don't say anything about it out loud! I'd die of embarrassment if Clyde found out about how I feel!"

Kara was about to say something, but she was cut off when Alphonse said, "Hey, is that Lynn sitting down with Lincoln and his friends?" Instantly, the Ace siblings and Kara all turned to see Lynn sitting down at the same table at which Lincoln, Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach were sitting. Unlike with Kara, Astrid and her siblings had some degree of knowing how the sole Loud boy felt about his sisters (minus the baby).

The Aces and Kara were too far away to hear any part of the conversation between Lynn and the five fifth-grade boys, although at one point Astrid was able to make out Rusty saying "DO NOT" before the older Spokes boy folded his arms and muttered something. The group of boys and Lynn then let out a bit of a laugh that the Aces and Kara were able to hear. Eventually, Lynn got up, apparently excused herself, then she took off, leaving the five fifth-grade boys be.

Seeing that the boys over at Lincoln's table were now conversing amongst themselves, the Aces and Kara turned to face each other, returning to their own conversation. "…What do you think all of that was about?" Andy asked, a curious and mildly confused look on the ten-year-old Ace boy's face.

"I don't know," Astrid replied with a gentle shake of her head, "But I get the feeling that Lincoln is starting to slowly warm up to his sisters again."

"Wait a minute," Kara said, "What happened, exactly?"

With a gentle shake of her head, Astrid said, "It's nothing, Kara. We ought to just let everything be." With that, the group resumed their lunch, making sure to finish before the bell rang.

* * *

Recess was more or less the usual fare for Astrid, but when the bell rang, the white-haired Ace girl went straight to her next class, which was art. Art was a subject that Astrid always enjoyed, although a somewhat recent kerfuffle involving Ronnie Anne losing her temper over some teasing put a cap on how creative the students in Mr. Schueller's art class. Seriously, some paint got thrown around, with a small cup of red paint landing right on top of Astrid's head, resulting in her long white hair resembling a candy cane.

When Aggro came by that day after school to pick up the K-8 Ace siblings, the first thing he did was snap a quick photo of how Astrid looked before laughing out an apology and promising to not show the photo to anyone; he just had to take the photo of Astrid with red-and-white striped hair because it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

But I digress. When Mr. Schueller said that the class would be using a stencil on the canvases that had been set out, a number of students let out a moan, but still set to work anyway with the rest of the class. For her part, Astrid had no issue with the use of a stencil on the canvas; it would allow for easier corrections to any mistakes that were made.

The white haired Ace girl set right to work with her artistic masterpiece, a surprisingly good sketch of a young adult girl, probably no older than eighteen; the girl in Astrid's art wore her long hair (that had some degree of highlights in it) in a high ponytail, with bangs mostly swept to the left. The girl wore a half-sleeve jacket over what appeared to be a Japanese school girl's shirt with a tie, a knee-length skirt that like the shirt wouldn't be out of place at a Japanese school, ankle socks and a pair of shoes. The girl was also riding what looked like a motorbike that wouldn't be out of place with a delinquent gang.

For some odd reason, the girl in Astrid's art had shading under her eyes that denoted the eyes as being somewhat sunken, there were scars on various areas of the girl's skin, and some wrappings here and there. The girl was also holding a baseball bat (judging by the art, it was a metal baseball bat). As Astrid added some final touches on some scars on the girl's left cheek, Girl Jordan, who stood next to the white haired Ace girl, looked over and saw what Astrid had drawn.

"Umm, who's that supposed to be, Astrid?" Girl Jordan asked.

"A zombie biker delinquent girl," Astrid replied.

With a casual, indifferent shrug, Girl Jordan remarked, "Isn't as weird as that orange tiger-dog with the black stripes." With a curious look, Girl Jordan asked, "Why did you even paint a thing like that in the first place?"

"I thought the tiger-dog would be a really great thing to paint a picture of," Astrid remarked. With a mildly bemused look on her face, Astrid added, "I was considering using red, but I couldn't find the right red paint until Ronnie Anne lost her temper due to comments that some of the others in class made, and paint was thrown around, and the right red paint landed on me."

"Heh, sorry about that," Girl Jordan remarked, "I thought it was kind of funny in a cute way how Ronnie Anne asked-"

"Geez Lincoln, I didn't think you'd go all out," Ronnie Anne said from where she stood in class, cutting Girl Jordan off and making her (Girl Jordan) and Astrid look over. As such, they saw Ronnie Anne looking at whatever Lincoln, who stood next to Ronnie Anne, drew. If the Hispanic tomboy was admiring the sole Loud boy's work that much, then Astrid figured that it must have been something good. Mr. Schueller, when he came over to see what Ronnie Anne and Lincoln had made, said similar words of praise about Lincoln's work.

After Mr. Schueller left Lincoln and Ronnie Anne be, a slight frown formed on Ronnie Anne's face. Neither Astrid nor Girl Jordan could quite make out most of the ensuing conversation between Ronnie Anne and Lincoln, although the white-haired Ace girl was able to make out her bestie referring to the sole Loud boy as a 'pro artist'. Eventually, the conversation between Lincoln and Ronne Anne came to more or less of an end, although the former cracked a small bit of a smile before saying to Ronnie Anne, "Nothing too complicated, but I'm sure you'll like it."

Astrid and Girl Jordan returned to their own artistic endeavors, with Girl Jordan attempting to draw a field of flowers on a sunny day, and a fairly majestic-looking horse was galloping through the field of flowers. To Astrid's piqued curiosity, Girl Jordan drew the horse in her art as a Clydesdale. Not the usual kind of horse one would imagine when someone said 'imagine a horse galloping through a field of flowers', but hey, Astrid isn't one to comment on Girl Jordan's choice of horse.

* * *

Aggro and Bobby had to spend at least seventy-five percent of their lunch period that day doing damage control, quelling certain rumors. Seriously, it escaped the male Ace twin how some of the girls at RWHS came to such a conclusion such as _that_. Aggro, as he walked from his history class that had ended for the day (history being a subject that he particularly excelled at), figured that the rumors could have been worse. Worse in such a way that Aggro would have had to do that aforementioned damage control with either Allison or Amy.

But that's beside the point. As the male Ace twin made his way through the hallway, he bumped into someone that he wasn't quite expecting. After the two teens recovered from having bumped into each other, Aggro recognized the girl he bumped into as Carol Pingray. "Oh, sorry about that, Carol," Aggro quickly apologized.

"No, no, I wasn't looking where I was going," Carol remarked, "Oh, but while I have you here Aggro, I wanted to let you know that I talked to some of the teachers here about the requests various students made about clubs they wanted to start up. One of the approved clubs is that Kendo Club you asked to start up. The teachers will want to ask you a few questions about it first, however."

"Well alright," the male Ace twin remarked, his tone sounding mildly amused, "After Bobby and I had to spend most of lunch doing damage control and having to pretty much do my entire history class group's work on our current project single-handedly, hearing about this is a welcomed bit of-" Aggro stopped short upon seeing the look on Carol's face; concerned, resigned, mildly sad. "…Carol," Aggro began, "Are you okay? You seem concerned about something."

With a resigned sigh, the class president said, "I had a bit of a text-heavy conversation with Lori. She's been acting down ever since the incident involving her younger brother, and I'm just worried about her. She clearly needs a shoulder to lean on, and I told her that I could provide her that shoulder if need be." Crossing her arms over her chest, Carol continued, "I let her go on her own, but I'm kind of wishing that I tagged along with Lori to wherever she was going."

"…You aren't the first," replied the male Ace twin.

A mildly confused look on her face, Carol said, "Huh?"

"Last Saturday," Aggro began to explain, "Allison invited Lori over in an attempt to try and patch things up. Her efforts were successful, and with what you said just now, I guess that Lori now has two people that she can count on if she needs it." What happened next took Aggro by surprise; a single tear fell down the side of Carol's face.

"Thank goodness," Carol said, her voice soft enough that Aggro could barely hear it despite the overall quietness of the hallway they were in, "Lori's not alone on this one."

"It may not be Lori alone who you should worry about," Aggro remarked, snapping Carol's attention back to him. "Lori's younger sisters who also go to school here-I don't exactly recall their names-are also in the same boat as Lori. It would be a good idea to extend a helping hand to them, as what you and Allison have done for Lori."

"You're absolutely right," Carol said right away, "I ought to look into helping Lori's sisters right away. By the way, their names are Leni and Luna."

"Ah, thank you," Aggro remarked, "Sorry, but I'm not all that familiar with any of the Louds outside of Lori because she's friends with Allison, the twins because they're friends with my little sister Anna, and Lori's jokester younger sister Luan because of a prank she pulled."

"Yeah," Carol remarked, "That comedian younger sister of Lori's is a bit of a handful, if what I heard about her from bits and pieces I've picked up from Lori, Leni and Luna are true."

The two teenagers exchanged a few more pleasantries before they both went their separate ways, with Aggro in particular going to his locker to pick up some reading material and a few printed packets he produced in the school's computer lab. These materials were gathered ahead of time by the male Ace twin, and all of it detailed various things about Kendo. After all, Carol said that Aggro's suggestion for a Kendo club at school was greenlit, so now all he had to do was explain a few things in detail to various teachers.

* * *

Later that day when school had let out, the K-8 aged Ace siblings were standing outside the school, waiting to be picked up. "Hey, did you guys see the Loud sisters all run home when school let out?" Andy asked his siblings as a whole, "They all looked like their butts were all on fire or something."

"You think it might have had something to do with Lynn sitting with Lincoln and his friends during lunch?" Alphonse replied, a curious look on his face, "Maybe the prospect of one of them successfully getting close to their brother without making him freak out has got them excited about possibly repairing their relationship with him."

"Lana and Lola seemed really excited," Anna remarked, "Maybe their big brother isn't scared of them anymore?"

As the others all talked amongst themselves, Astrid was deep in thought; never having gotten the chance to see what Lincoln made during their art class, the white-haired Ace girl asked Ronnie Anne about it, as she stood next to the sole Loud boy. According to Ronnie Anne, Lincoln had drawn an epic fight scene between two groups of heroes, a scene that can commonly be found in many comic book series. One group consisted of hero versions of Lincoln's sisters (minus the baby), while the other group consisted of hero versions of Lincoln himself, all of his friends, Ronnie Anne and Lincoln's baby sister (apparently aged up). From what she was able to gather from Ronnie Anne, Astrid had no reason to doubt that Lincoln's work is of notable quality.

Astrid had also briefly fantasized about a superhero version of Clyde coming to her rescue.

As Astrid continued to think about the events of her art class today, the Ace family van pulled up, with the Ace siblings' mother Ashe in the driver seat. However, to the surprise of the Ace siblings as they piled in, their grandaunt Sejuani was in the front passenger seat.

"Sorry if popping in like this came as a surprise," Sejuani said to her grandnieces and grandnephews after the van took off from the K-8 school, "But a friend of mine in Great Lakes City is looking into the possibility of relocating his business to here in Royal Woods, so he and his wife came down here to scout out potential locations. They brought me along because it's been a while since I've seen any of you."

"It's great to see you again, Aunt Sejuani," Argent remarked, "There's been a bit of drama at our schools as of late, and you coming over is a nice break from said drama."

"Drama, you say?" said the older Swedish woman, "What kind of drama is it?"

"Our friends, the Loud siblings," Astrid began to explain, her tone taking on a slightly somber hint, "The sisters aside from the baby got into some major, and I do mean _major_ , trouble after they beat their brother Lincoln to the point that he had to be hospitalized. What's more is that he's scared of them now."

"I…I beg your pardon?" Sejuani asked, sounding like she had been taken aback by what she had just heard, "Are you telling me that those girls beat their brother into fearing them?"

"Unfortunately, it's true," Alphonse replied, "And trust me when I say that it's done nothing good for the girls when word of what happened started to spread around. Granted, Astrid, Andy, Argent, Anna and I have seen evidence suggesting that Lincoln is starting to lose his fear earlier today, but the Loud girls are still social pariahs." With a curious expression on his face, Alphonse added, "I'm not too sure about the High School-aged Loud sisters. I'll have to ask Aggro and the others when we get back home."

As the Ace siblings in the family van proceeded to talk amongst themselves, Sejuani began to contemplate what she had just heard from her grandnieces and grandnephews. If all of what Alphonse and the others had said is true, then it would go a rather long way to explain why Sejuani's good friend Albert had secluded himself away from his daughter Rita's family for as long as he had; Sejuani knew that the Loud children were the grandchildren of Albert, after all. The older Swedish woman thought that her friend was probably afraid of what he'd do if he got within arm's reach of his daughter's family while his emotions were still high. She knew from Hector that Albert was disappointed in most of his grandchildren, but was _this_ the reason why?

Sejuani could not help but worry about the white-haired man's well-being.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER EIGHT

Author's notes:

From what I've been able to gather, a number of people are wondering why Albert (A.K.A Pop-pop) has yet to pop up in Syngenesophobia. Well, here's hoping that what I've presented here will serve as a plausible enough reason for Albert's mysterious absence during times in which his daughter's family is going through some rather serious turmoil. Anywho, the end of this chapter is set around the same time as the end of Syngenesophobia ch31, where everyone's gone home from school for the day. Not sure what will happen the next day in the story's setting, but I for one am looking forward to it.

As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter nine: Insightful conversations

Argent Ace was laying on a sofa in the counselor's office at Royal Woods combined grades school one day. The counselor was surprised to see one of the Ace siblings come in, but when the eight-year-old Ace boy said that he wanted to talk about something that troubled him, the consoler calmly accepted Argent's request.

"So Argent," the counselor began, "What seems to be on your mind?"

"You mean aside from the fact that Lucy Loud and her sisters aside from the baby are complete and total monsters?" Argent replied, clearly sounding like he was upset with the girls that he was talking about, "Nothing much, really."

The counselor was surprised to hear Argent speak in such a manner about any of the other students at school; although it wasn't by much, the counselor was familiar enough with the Ace siblings to know that Argent generally kept himself out of trouble, and tended to avoid going into conflicts with any other students at Royal Woods combined grades school. The counselor wished that Lynn Loud Jr. would have taken after Argent in this regard.

"That's…" the counselor remarked as he spoke in a tone of subdued shock, "…That's a rather strong opinion of Lucy and her sisters that you have, Argent."

"Well you _have_ heard of what Lucy and her sisters did, right?" Argent replied, his anger starting to rise a bit, "About how they thrashed Lincoln to the point that not only did he need treatment at the hospital, but now he's afraid of his sisters?"

With a resigned sigh, the counselor said, "Yes. I heard from some teachers about what Lynn Loud said in the cafeteria a few weeks ago, right before getting into a fight with Miss Santiago that ended when Walker came in to break things up." Straightening himself up a bit, the counselor continued, "While I can understand that what happened has you upset, I'm a bit surprised that you're as upset as you are. After all, if I recall correctly, you've hardly ever had any personal interactions with Lincoln Loud. At least enough to build the basis of a friendship."

Sighing in a resigned tone himself, Argent explained, "It's not so much the incident in and of itself, it's how the incident has affected my friend Rocky Spokes."

"Rocky Spokes?" the counselor replied in a curious tone as he considered the notion, "…Ah yes, he's Rusty Spoke's younger brother." With a gentle nodding of his head, the counselor said, "Rocky is a good kid. You'd be wise to follow his example."

"Yeah, Rocky's an awesome dude, but that's beside the point," Argent remarked casually. With a troubled sigh, Argent explained, "See, Rocky actually had feelings for Lucy. The feelings were mutual, and they actually managed to hit it off." Gently shaking his head, the eight-year-old Ace boy continued, "Then Lucy and her sisters thought it would be all in good fun to thrash their brother Lincoln. When word of that got out, Rocky was pretty devastated to hear that the girl that he had feelings for would have had a hand in doing something so reprehensible."

With a clearly troubled look on his face, the counselor said, "Oh my…"

"So naturally," Argent continued as his smoldering anger towards the Loud sisters started to pick back up a bit, "Rocky wanted nothing to do with Lucy and the rest of the Loud girls because of what they did. He couldn't even stand to face Lucy to return a gift she gave him, so he asked me to deliver it for him, along with a note that pretty much told Lucy that he was done with her." What the counselor asked next took Argent by surprise.

"Can I ask why exactly you are upset on Rocky's behalf?"

Sitting up and turning to face the counselor, Argent asked, "Excuse me?"

Holding a hand up in a gesture to cut off any protest, the counselor said, "Don't get me wrong, I think that it's rather noble of you to be upset on your friend's behalf on a matter that undoubtedly has an effect on him. It shows that you really care about your friend's emotional well-being. However, it's not like the incident exactly caused Rocky any physical harm. All that happened was that he now sees Lucy and her sisters in a new light."

"A new light that caused Rocky's heart to break," Argent retorted, "Seriously! He thought that Lucy was a nice girl with cool interests, and then she goes and participates in a beating that lands her own older brother in the ICU!" Giving the counselor a serious look, Argent said, "Did you know that, upon hearing what Lucy had a hand in doing, Rocky actually _cried_?!"

"Rocky…he actually…" the counselor said in a clearly troubled tone, "…Oh my."

"Yeah, he cried," Argent confirmed, his tone making it clear he was upset with how the whole mess affected his friend, "I sat with him on the couch in his family's living room while he cried for about half an hour straight. Rocky cried so badly that even Rusty, who normally refrains from getting involved when Rocky's upset, even went out into the kitchen to grab some cans of cola. The three of us must have downed close to a twelve pack's worth of cola before I had to leave to go back home."

The counselor sat there thinking for a few moments, contemplating what the eight-year-old Ace boy had said. After close to a minute, the counselor said, "From what I can gather here, the reason that you're so upset with the Loud girls is because of the incident where they landed their brother in the hospital, and that Lucy had a hand in said incident, and because of that your friend Rocky ended his association with her, as her actions changed how Rocky views her to the point where she became a completely different person as far as he's concerned." Leaning back in his seat a bit, the counselor said, "Don't you think you ought to give Lucy and her sisters another chance, Argent?"

Looking up at the counselor with an incredulous look, Argent said, "Another chance?"

"Don't get me wrong," the counselor remarked, "Because like I said, it's noble that you're upset with how this whole mess has affected your friend on an emotional level. However, from what I've been able to gather, the Loud girls are truly remorseful with what had happened, and that they are actively working to try to make things right."

Scoffing in a tone of disbelief, Argent said, "Pfft, yeah right."

"No, I'm serious," the counselor went on, "As a matter of fact, I heard a few students talk about how they saw Lincoln's sister Lynn eat lunch with him and a few of his friends yesterday, and that she stayed long enough to actually carry out a conversation with the boys." Giving Argent a knowing look, the counselor said, "If Lincoln's willing to stay that close to one of his sisters in spite of what they did, don't you think it's a sign that he might possibly be able to move on from what his sisters did?"

"…You do have a point, I suppose," Argent finally relented, "And I did in fact see Lynn eat lunch with Lincoln and his friends yesterday."

With a knowing nod, the counselor remarked, "Then since there are signs that Lincoln is getting more comfortable around his sisters, I think it would be best if at least some of your temper towards the Loud girls died down. They've regret what they've done and are trying to make up for it in any way that they can, and Lincoln at least acknowledges it."

The eight-year-old Ace boy looked down to his side, thinking about what the counselor. "…Yet another excellent point…" Argent remarked somewhat quietly.

"And if it helps, you might want to try and raise some of these points up with Rocky," the counselor suggested, "I have not overlooked that he's been affected by what happened either. In fact, I may want to talk to him as well."

Nodding a bit in agreement, Argent said, "Yeah. I've noticed how Rocky's focus in class has slipped a bit ever since word of what Lucy and her sisters did have gotten out. I'd hate to see Rocky's overall grades go downhill because of what happened." Getting up off of the sofa, Argent said, "Thanks for your time, sir. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Have a good day, Argent," the counselor replied, watching as Argent walked out of his office.

…

After leaving the counselor's office, Argent proceeded to make his way back to class. However, when he turned a corner in one of the hallways, he very nearly bumped into another student. To Argent's surprise, it was Lana Loud, acting in her hall monitor duties, who he had bumped into. Upon recognizing the tomboyish Loud twin, Argent noticed that, surprisingly, Lana didn't have a smell suggesting that she had very recently rummaged through garbage, and that she also looked like she had very recently taken a bath. Argent noted this as being odd, as Lana was not exactly known as a model of good hygiene.

Argent also noticed that the tomboyish Loud twin looked somewhat troubled. "…I assume that something bad recently happened?" Argent asked, getting Lana, who was looking down at the floor somewhat, to look up at him. When she did, she had a confused look on her face.

"…Aren't you one of Anna Ace's older brothers?" Lana asked.

"Yeah," Argent replied, "My name's Argent. Now, let me ask again; I assume that something bad recently happened?"

Nodding weakly in the affirmative, Lana said, "…Yeah. I'm still feeling really bad about what my sisters and I did to Lincoln. I also…" Sniffling a little bit, Lana continued, "…I'm also feeling really bad about what happened to El Diablo."

With a curious, confused look on his face, Argent said, "El Diablo? Who's that?"

"He is…was…my pet snake," Lana explained, "The night that Lincoln was taken to the hospital, my dad grounded me and my sisters, aside from Lily, big time, and he also gave us various punishments. Mine was him taking all of my pets to the nearby animal shelter."

"…Go on," the eight-year-old Ace boy remarked.

"Recently," Lana continued, "My dad decided to lift some of the punishments my sisters and I have, and as such, I was able to get some of my pets back. So we went to the animal shelter, and…" Sniffling a little more, Lana said, "I found out that only my pet frog Hops and my pet lizard Izzy were still there, and that El Diablo…he…he…" Sniffling once again, Lana said as a stray tear ran down the side of her face, "…He was put down."

Argent could not help himself but go wide-eyed with shock upon hearing that a pet snake had to be euthanized; after all, Argent himself owns a pet snake, who is named Jormungandr. He had no doubt that he himself would be upset if/when Jormungandr dies. Argent laid a hand on Lana's shoulder in a reassuring gesture, something that he was surprised to find himself doing; after all, he thought that he would never have any sympathy for any of the Loud girls. Not after what they had done to Lincoln.

"That is…" Argent began, "…I am sorry to hear about that."

Sniffling a bit, Lana looked up at the eight-year-old Ace boy. "I'm s-surprised that you're being s-sorry," the tomboyish Loud twin choked out, her soft crying making it somewhat difficult to get the words out properly.

"…" Thinking a bit about Lana's response, Argent countered by saying, "…There was this one time, a few weeks prior to what you and your sisters did, where your sister Lucy was over at my place with Rocky. While there, Lucy and Rocky saw all of the pets that my siblings and I own. That includes Jormungandr, my pet snake."

Upon hearing Argent mention that he has a snake, Lana perked up, if ever so slightly. "Y-you own a snake yourself?" Lana asked, finding herself a bit surprised.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Argent said, "Now you see why I'm so troubled to hear about your snake having been put down. I myself would be besides with grief should Jormungandr meet his own end."

"I s-still remember when I first found El Diablo," Lana remarked. Argent was a bit confused when Lana said that she 'found' El Diablo, but long story short, Argent heard a tale about how when Lana was three, she found the snake while playing around with a few potted plants, and she kept the snake in secret after her mom initially told her to get rid of it; it was then that Lana had named it El Diablo. After the secret snake was revealed, there was a long discussion that ultimately ended in Lana getting to keep the snake that she found.

And now that snake was gone.

"…That is a bit different than the story of how I came to own Jormungandr," Argent remarked. With a gentle shake of his head, the eight-year-old Ace boy continued, "But I don't think that it changes the fact that this is a loss that would hit anyone hard, should it have happened to them."

Sniffling a bit more, Lana said, "…It wouldn't have happened if my stupid sisters and stupid me didn't do what we did to Lincoln. It's my fault that El Diablo died."

Argent didn't know quite what to say here; although it was true, to an extent, that the actions that Lana and her sisters took ultimately led to what had happened to the late El Diablo, the eight-year-old Ace boy wouldn't go so far as to straight up say to Lana's face that, yes, it IS her fault that her snake is now dead. Such actions were the LAST thing that were needed, and even Argent, had he still had his full vindictiveness towards the Loud girls, wouldn't have gone that far.

"…I'm not quite sure what to say here," Argent remarked, "Other than you might want to discuss this with someone who would have more of an idea of what to do. But I will say this." Placing his hands on Lana's shoulders so that he had her full attention, Argent said, "Lana, you need to stop beating yourself up so unnecessarily. You don't need it, and if you really want to help your brother, then he doesn't need it, either."

The tomboyish Loud twin looked up at Argent, surprised to hear what he had to say. After a few brief moments, Lana said, "O-okay."

Smiling a bit, Argent said, "Good." Letting go of Lana, Argent continued, "Anyway, I've got to get to class." After showing Lana that he had a hall pass (Lana IS acting in her duties as a hall monitor, after all), Argent was allowed to go on his way back to class. He was still a bit worried about Lana, and he was surprised to find himself worried about the other Loud sisters as well, but Argent had a reason to believe that things will work themselves out eventually.

* * *

Aggro Ace was making his way back from talking to the principal of Royal Woods High School. The male Ace twin was feeling particularly annoyed at the moment; the Kendo Club that he wished to start up at RWHS ultimately was turned down, but the sole reason for it was due to how much of a budget the principal feared it would need. If the principal felt that there was plenty of available funds for it, then the Kendo Club would have been started up by this time next week.

Oh well. At least the reason that the Kendo Club wasn't ultimately greenlit was reasonable.

With a mildly annoyed scowl on his face, Aggro proceeded to make his way back to where he expected to meet up with Bobby and a few of the guys. When he made a turn, however, the male Ace twin spotted those two girls, Bianca and Sooyoung, harassing one of the Loud sisters that goes to RWHS that is not Lori. Aggro did not know what her name was; all that he knew about her was that she was the sister of Lori's that was really into music.

"Oi!" Aggro shouted towards where the three girls were, getting Bianca and Sooyoung to stop and all three of the girls to look over, seeing Aggro come up to them as a result. Facing Bianca and Sooyoung, Aggro asked while pointing to Lori's sister, "Care to explain yourselves?"

"Did you not hear about what happened?" Bianca asked while gesturing to Lori's sister, "What she and the bitches that she calls her sisters had done?"

"We were just telling her off," Sooyoung replied in a defensive tone, "Anyone who knows about it would have done what we're doing right now."

Aggro gave Bianca and Sooyoung a serious look. "…I understand that what she and her sisters had done is a reprehensible offence," the male Ace twin began, "But there is no need to go so far as to blatantly grill them over it. They are already paying for what they had done, so harassing them over matters is not going to be doing any one any favors."

Both girls looked at Aggro as if he had just sprouted a second head. "Are you kidding me?!" Sooyoung nearly exclaimed, giving Aggro an incredulous look, "Are you seriously saying that we should leave them alone?"

"If I had heard correctly," Aggro began to reply, "At least three other students had already been punished for bothering Lori's fashion-inclined sister Lola, with one of the three harassers in question actually being suspended from school."

"Umm, me and Lori's sister who likes fashion is Leni," the Loud sister that was there corrected.

Turning to face the Loud sister that he rescued from bullies, Aggro replied, "My apologies, Lisa. I'm not all that familiar with you and your sisters aside from Lori."

"I'm Luna," the musically inclined Loud sister corrected.

"My point exactly," Aggro remarked. Turning to face Bianca and Sooyoung, Aggro said, "I'm serious. Despite what Lori and her sisters have done, harassing them over it is totally uncalled for. That being said, I'm going to have to ask that you two leave the Louds alone." The two girls saw that they weren't going to get to continue to do what they were doing, so they decided to leave, annoyed that they were stopped.

Once Bianca and Sooyoung were gone, Aggro turned to face Luna. "Are you going to be okay?" the male Ace twin asked.

Nodding a little, Luna replied, "Yeah, I think that I'll be okay, dude. Thanks for the save."

"Those two ought to be reported," Aggro remarked, nudging his head in the direction that Bianca and Sooyoung had taken off in, "I'll do it if you don't."

Luna, with a look of mild worry on her face, simply replied, "Just try not to get into trouble."

With an amused smile, Aggro said, "I doubt reporting two bullies will land me in hot water."

Chuckling a bit despite herself, Luna simply nodded in agreement. "…Yeah, you got me there, brah," the musically inclined Loud sister remarked.

With a bit of an amused chuckle, Aggro remarked as he walked off, "Take care, now."

* * *

After schools in Royal Woods had let out for that day, Allison could be seen at a local park, taking Fenrir for a walk. As she brought the Tibetan Mastiff over to a tree in hopes that he would be wanting to do his business, Allison heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey, aren't you Allison Ace?" Turning around, the female Ace twin saw Carol Pingrey come walking up, holding onto a leash that she was using to walk her Corgi, a young adult male with white fur. "Yeah," Carol said when she got close to Allison, "Yeah, you are Allison."

"Is there something that I can help you with, your highness?" Allison asked; the female Ace twin didn't know Carol as much other than the most recent homecoming queen.

Carol, chuckling a bit, was apparently able to catch onto this. "Yeah, there was something I've been wanting to ask you," Carol began, "It's about Lori Loud and her sisters."

Allison gave Carol a mildly wry look. "…You wish to ask my opinion on the girls, do you not?" Allison remarked. In response, the homecoming queen nodded a few times in the affirmative. With a sigh, Allison said, "To be honest, when I heard of what happened for the very first time, it came from Bobby, who had recently voluntarily ended his role as Lori's champion. That being said, I was not going to believe the word of someone who had broken up with Lori, as I thought he was trying to slander her and her sisters."

With a mildly concerned look on her face, Carol said, "…Then you learned that Bobby was not actually lying."

"I learned that his words were true when Lori herself, alongside the musician and the seamstress, confirmed that they had taken such actions that betrayed their own clan," the female Ace twin continued, "Upon hearing their confession, I was so angry that I bellowed towards Valhalla before threatening the girls into not doing to my kin what they did to theirs."

"I…actually heard your shout from that day in the library," Carol admitted, "I was standing a few bookshelves away."

With a troubled sigh, Allison continued, "In recent times, I have come to question my hastiness in these matters. Over the previous weekend, I made efforts to try to mend the bridge with Lori." With a mildly amused smile, Allison added, "My efforts were successful, by the way."

"Thank goodness," Carol remarked, "And here I thought that Lori and her sisters were going to be completely alone here." Giving Allison a curious look, the homecoming queen continued, "Hey Allison, I don't suppose you'd be up to help me help Lori out, should I need the extra manpower, would you?"

Regarding Carol with a curious look, Allison said, "If time permits me, then I don't see why not." Carol smiled, an expression gratitude showing that she was glad that she wouldn't be alone in the matter of helping out the oldest Loud sister. The two teenage girls continued to talk for a bit, completely unaware that Carol's Corgi was lying on his back, whining in a tone of surrender as Fenrir curiously sniffed at his stomach in a relatively friendly manner. The Tibetan Mastiff was completely unaware of the fact that he was actually intimidating the much smaller dog.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER NINE

Author's notes:

This chapter is set following Lincoln waking up from his dream in chapter thirty-two of 'Syngenesophobia'. I originally wanted to have some of the Ace siblings have their own dream sequences during the same night Lincoln has his aforementioned dream, but after doing a bit of thinking on the matter, I decided to cut the idea all together. Still, I like to think that I did well enough here, even though I think that Argent's bit kind of took up most of the chapter.

As always, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, not me. All credit for his story should go to him.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Ace Observations

Chapter ten: A confusing week leading to a casual weekend

Allison and Amy weren't too inclined to believe their younger sister Anna when she said that at school today, not only were Lola and Lana Loud dressed exactly alike, but it was to such a degree that it made one of the teachers freak out and seek refuge in a Janitor's closet. The other Ace siblings who were of the age to attend the combined grades school confirmed that what the youngest Ace said was true.

Aggro, who picked up his younger siblings from school that day, also saw what Anna was talking about. Although he didn't freak out like the one teacher that Anna spoke of, he was still nonetheless baffled by seeing Lola and Lana looking exactly the same; Aggro even wondered aloud if either of the Loud twins managed to develop the kage bunshin no jutsu. Either way, the subject of the Loud twins spontaneously deciding to do what they were doing made for one hell of a conversation starter when the Ace family had dinner that night.

"I intent to ask Lori about this stunt those girls are carrying out," Allison remarked, clearly suspicious of what Lola and Lana were up to, "I want to know what manner of sorcery those twins have in store."

"I'm pretty sure it's just some harmless prank that the Loud twins are trying to pull, Allison," Aggro remarked after taking a sip from his glass of Sunhoney Root Beer.

As Aggro picked up his glass to take another sip, he was cut off in the middle of doing so when a fist slammed onto the table surface, making him, the rest of the Ace siblings and their mother Ashe turn to regard Allison. "I am in no mood for hearing any talk of pranks," the female Ace twin swore, her tone making it clear that the subject of pranks was not something she was fond of, "If you will recall, Lori's jokester younger sister pulled a prank that resulted in Fenrir's fur being splashed with a hot pink paint that was mixed with glitter."

"To be fair, Allison," Alphonse spoke up, "That prank of Luan's was actually meant for me. I was having something of a prank war with my friend Benny, and when Luan learned that I was two points ahead, she decided to try and help Benny even the score."

"Yeah, he's got a point, Allison," Amy remarked, "Also, I'm pretty sure that Lori's younger sister Luan is still absolutely terrified of you after the way you lost your temper at her…"

*FLASHBACK*

Allison, with her fists planted one her hips, was standing before Luan in the Loud family dining room during a prior April fool's day, her furious glare keeping the comedic Loud sister pinned out of fright. The audible breathing into and out of Allison's nose was a very clear sign that the female Ace twin was upset, although the presence of Lori and Leni, plus Allison's sister Amy, was enough to keep Allison from using physical violence, although she was still raising her tone.

"I OUGHT TO SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO THE PITS OF HELHEIM, YOU IMPISH TROLL!" Allison bellowed angrily at the terrified Luan, "THE STUNT THAT YOU PULLED IS BY NO MEANS A LAUGHING MATTER!"

"Allison, there's literally no need to send Luan to Viking hell," Lori said. The oldest Loud sibling would step in to keep Allison from actually using physical violence on Luan, but if all that the female Ace twin was going to do was bellow angrily at Luan, then Lori would let it be; Lori felt that her comedic younger sister needed to learn a valuable lesson here.

"Her prank resulted in Fenrir's fur being splashed with hot pink paint that had been mixed with glitter," Allison remarked as she turned to face Lori while pointing an accusing finger at Luan, "This is not an offence that I can simply overlook!"

"The paint and glitter can be washed out though, right?" Lori asked.

"…It can," Allison replied as she began to calm down, "But the special shampoo that is needed is fairly expensive, given how much is in one bottle. It's rather inconvenient to have to drop such a sum without warning."

Lori smiled a bit at this revelation. "Then how about, as part of her punishment, Luan is made to pay for the shampoo that's needed to wash your dog's fur?" suggested the oldest Loud sister.

Allison shifted her gaze from Lori to Luan, looked at the comedic Loud sibling for a bit, and then looked back at Lori. "…A fair enough offer, I suppose," the female Ace twin remarked as she settled down by a noticeable amount, drawing noticeable relief from Luan. As she continued to face Lori, Allison said, "I'd rather that the shampoo be purchased as soon as possible. I don't want Fenrir going around looking like some flowery fairy if it can be helped."

"I'll take Luan to go buy it right away," Lori replied, "I just need to know what the shampoo is called and what store it can be bought at." Allison nodded in understanding before she wrote out a small bit of instructions on some paper. Before long, Lori took a guilty-looking Luan out to go buy the special pet shampoo for Allison's dog, which ended up costing Luan $204.20.

*FLASHBACK OVER*

Scoffing in a mildly annoyed tone, Allison said, "At least Lori made the jokester pay for the special shampoo that was needed to wash Fenrir's fur." As she picked up her glass of Moonberry Cola, the female Ace twin said to her family, "So, did anything of interest happen today, aside from anything related to pranks?"

"I got the highest score on an assignment in my history class," Aggro remarked. With a bit of a self-amused look on his face, Aggro continued, "I got a perfect score. The person in my history class with the next highest score on that assignment is Bobby, who only got a seventy-two."

"Ah yes, Lori's ex-champion," Allison said. After eating a forkful of food, Allison continued, "Do you know if he has found himself another woman yet?"

The male Ace twin shook his head gently in the negative. "Sorry Allison, but I have no clue," Aggro replied, "Besides, I get the feeling that Bobby's ended relationship with Lori is still something of a sore subject for him, so I've left it be."

Allison nodded in understanding; she is familiar with what her twin brother was getting at. After all, when the subject of Bobby is brought up around Lori, it draws something of a downcast tone out of the oldest Loud sibling. Allison, in a somewhat rare moment of actually being able to read the mood for once, decided to cease talking about Bobby while Lori is around, if she was able to help it that is (sometimes things just come up in conversation).

"Hey Aggro," Astrid began, getting him to turn to face her, "Are you available after dinner? Because there's something that I need your help with."

Aggro regarded his eleven-year-old sister as he noticed that she was looking down and to her left, a noticeable blushing on her face. This was a look that Aggro was all too familiar with; Astrid had this look whenever she was thinking about Clyde McBride, the boy that she had a noticeable crush on. Aggro, with a mildly amused look on his face, casually said, "Well I don't see why not, Astrid. I just need to check my backpack to make sure my books for school are still in there, then I'll meet you at your bedroom."

Astrid, with a mildly appreciative look on her face, nodded once in thanks before she resumed eating dinner. The rest of dinner was taken up by Ashe, who was telling her children about a few things that happened that day over at Odin-Dono's Swedish-Japanese Cuisine, the restaurant that is owned by the Ace family.

* * *

The rest of the week went by without much incident; the Ace siblings at the combined grades school saw a few more bits of the little prank Lola and Lana had going, but all such cases were observed from afar, aside from Anna going up to the Loud twins about it sometime on Friday morning and personally asking them about what they were up to, getting an answer from them that satisfied her itching curiosity.

Similarly, nothing of note happened at RWHS, other than a minor incident in the cafeteria on Friday that was resolved without much issue. All it was is that two RWHS students, seventeen-year-old Chaz and fifteen-year-old Sam, had gotten into a fight over the last thing of tater tots that the cafeteria had during the lunch period that they share (according to all reports that were collected on the matter, Sam had both started and won the fight).

But enough of that messy business. It's Saturday now, and the school-aged populace of Royal Woods are making the most of their two days of freedom from the confines of the education system. Some were catching up on some sleep, a few younger kids were out playing, and some of the older kids from the higher grades were even working to earn a little extra pocket change. As for one Bobby Santiago, however, he was at the local comic book slash card shop, sitting at a table as he was playing a card game against some random kid from the combined grades school who saw the Hispanic teen's cards and decided to challenge him.

"…Yeah, it's game unless you can stop my Gouki the Giant Ogre from attacking you directly," Bobby said to his opponent, a boy who had fairly tanned skin, black hair; the boy wore black-framed glasses that had square-shaped lenses, a burgundy sweater with a bit of a turtleneck, blue jeans and white shoes.

The boy playing against Bobby sighed in a bit of a resigned tone. "Yeah, you got me," the boy said, admitting defeat. As he collected his cards, the boy said, "You know, you're one of the toughest guys that I've ever played against. The only other guy that I've encountered like you is Astrid Ace's older brother at the high school."

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," a male voice said from over a short ways, making Bobby and his opponent look over and see Aggro walking over. Gesturing to where the guys were playing, Aggro remarked, "I see that you played a game with this Amir boy from the combined grades school, Bobby. I believe Astrid told me that she and Ronnie Anne shares at least once class with him."

Jerking a thumb at Aggro, the boy from the combined grades school, revealed to be named Amir, said to Bobby, "Yeah, this is the guy that I was talking about! He's got these crazy strong link monsters!"

Nodding in an understanding manner, Bobby said, "Yeah, I know, kid. Can't say how many times that Aggro had whumped my ass."

Seeing the sheer surprise out of a kid the same age as their respective younger sisters, Bobby and Aggro both couldn't help but chuckle in good-natured amused tones. After the teens calmed down a bit, Aggro asked Amir if he can take over. The tan-skinned kid, needing to leave anyway, was more than glad to give his seat to the male Ace twin.

…

The two seventeen-year-old guys were playing a game against each other sometime after Amir had left the shop. Aggro ended up winning that game when he attacked directly with something called Black Luster Solider-Solider of Chaos. "I still need to get my own BLS-SOC, you know," Bobby remarked to his closest friend as the two boys gathered up their respective cards.

Aggro, with a curious look, said, "You do realize that given your deck's current build, you cannot use a BLS-SOC to its fullest potential, don't you, Bobby?"

"Yeah, but it's still a hella powerful card," Bobby explained, "Its other effects are still pretty useful, you know."

With a bit of a chuckle, Aggro remarked, "Well then, I hope you don't mind that the price for it right now it rather notable." The two friends shared a laugh, but after the laugh was done, Bobby sighed, a hint of somber resignation in his tone. This did not go by the male Ace twin unnoticed. "…You okay, Bobby?" Aggro asked, "You don't sound all that-"

"I had a rough dream last night," Bobby said, unknowingly interrupting Aggro midsentence. Aggro could tell that the teen who worked many jobs had a lot on his mind, so he decided to gesture for Bobby to continue with this tale he apparently had. "Ronnie Anne got roughed up by one of Lori's sisters," Bobby explained, "Thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what Lori and her sisters did to the bro, but it was still rather disheartening to see."

The male Ace twin calmly nodded in understanding; even when Bobby and Lori were still an item, there were two girls that Bobby would put before Lori. Those girls are Ronnie Anne, Bobby's little sister, and Maria, Bobby's mother. Lori was not only aware of this but she fully understood it. Lori actually said that this trait of Bobby's made him even more desirable, as it was a clear sign that he would be a dedicated family man, perfect husband material.

There were even a few cases where Lori had appealed to Bobby's caring for his sister and mother, such as a time where Lori gave Mrs. Santiago a very lovely brooch as a gift. There was another occasion where Lori and Bobby had a special date planned weeks in advance, but since the date fell on Ronnie Anne's eleventh birthday and Bobby said that he had to be there for Ronnie Anne's party, Lori not only agreed that it was the right thing, but she even asked to come by with a birthday gift for Ronnie Anne; Aggro can verify this, as he was also at the party, given that he had to keep an eye on Astrid, who Ronnie Anne invited over for the party.

Gently shaking his head, Bobby continued, "I'd never be able to forgive myself if something like that happened to Ronnie Anne. As it stands, if I ever find out that one of Lori's sisters _did_ rough up Ronnie Anne, then I would be out for the blood of that sister of Lori's." The male Ace twin nodded once again in understanding, given that he'd likewise do the same if any of his siblings were to get roughed up.

Aggro also thought about the matter for a bit; from what he had come up with, given some of the jobs that Bobby has done over time (there were at least two manual labor jobs Bobby had done that Aggro could think of off the top of his head), the Santiago teen has built up quite a bit of resilience and physical strength. With that in mind, if Bobby was sufficiently motivated, he would most likely win a one-v-one brawl against any of the Loud girls, even if the Loud girl in question went all out. The only exceptions to this that Aggro could think of were Lori herself and (maybe) Lori's musically inclined sister.

Thankfully, Bobby has never heard of any incidents involving Ronnie Anne getting roughed up by anyone. There was a somewhat recent incident where Ronnie Anne rode her skateboard into a street post or something similar due to not paying attention and she received a fairly nasty mark on her head for her troubles, but that's about it.

" _And Ronnie Anne wonders why neither I or Bobby like riding skateboards_ ," Aggro thought dryly as he recalled what the Hispanic tomboy had told him and Bobby when they saw that mark on her forehead shortly after she got it. Reaching towards his good friend with his right hand, Aggro laid said hand on Bobby's left shoulder in a gesture of reassurance. "Bobby, I don't think you have to worry about any of Lori's sisters roughing up Ronnie Anne," Aggro remarked.

Giving the male Ace twin a curious wondering look, Bobby asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"Lori and her sisters are still in enough trouble as it is," Aggro pointed out, "If any of them were to act out right now, they would only be digging themselves deeper. I can also say for certain that Lori not only would not act out in any manner, but if she hears that any of her sisters are acting out, she will personally reel said sister in." With a confident nod, Aggro added, "You don't have to worry about your younger sister, at least as much as you're doing so right now. She's a pretty tough kid, from what Astrid has told me."

Bobby considered his friend's words for a bit, then after about a half-minute of thought, nodded in agreement. "…Yeah, you got me there, dude," Bobby remarked, "Ronnie Anne is one tough cookie. Heck, she even won that brawl against Lori's sports-obsessed sister in the cafeteria over at the combined grades school a couple of weeks ago!" Aggro nodded in understanding, as he had also heard of said brawl; his siblings who go to the combined grades school told them that they had seen it. None of them mentioned anything else about it to Aggro, though.

Aggro took his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time. "…I still have at least an hour," the male Ace twin remarked. Giving Bobby a mildly amused look, Aggro said, "You up for another game, my good man?"

"Actually, I kind of have to get going," Bobby replied, "There's…someone that I have to go see for something. I'll fill you in on the details later."

Aggro nodded in understanding while also wishing Bobby luck in tracking down Ronnie Anne. The two boys gathered their respective belongings, and when they had them packed, they both left the shop and went their separate ways, with Aggro going to the used book store because he wanted to see if there were any new goods to check out.

* * *

It was late that afternoon, sometime before dinner, and Ronnie Anne Santiago was out for a stroll, as she needed to clear her head. She encountered Astrid, who was likewise out for some fresh air as well, and after they met up, the two girls decided to walk and talk. The conversation between the two fifth-grade girls eventually reached the point where they were talking about recent developments in their respective lives.

"S-s-she's teaching you to fight?!" Astrid nearly exclaimed, shock clear on the Ace girl's face.

"Yeah, so Lynn is showing me the ropes," the Hispanic tomboy remarked. Arching an eyebrow, Ronnie Anne continued, "What of it?"

Sighing, Astrid looked at her friend, gave her a serious look. "Why would you even be okay with her teaching you to fight?" the white-haired Ace girl asked.

"Hey look," Ronne Anne began, "Someone's got to save Lincoln's rear if someone tries to throw him through the wringer again. Lynn's pretty tough, and she knows a lot about fighting. If she doesn't teach me how to fight properly, then who?" Right away, Astrid thought about her older brother Aggro; the male Ace twin also has fighting experience, as well as training in a number of martial arts and combat-type sports, AND he's had more time than Lynn. If anyone would be the perfect mentor to Ronnie Anne in learning how to fight, it would be Aggro.

…But Astrid realized that all of her thinking in this regard came from bias on her part; she also realized that Aggro would most likely refuse to train Ronnie Anne as he didn't have too much time to spare nowadays, although Astrid was certain that Aggro would understand, and even give a bit of approval towards, Ronnie Anne's reasons for wanting to learn how to fight. All that Astrid could do was express the concern she felt.

"…I just hope that you know what you're doing, Ronnie Anne," the white-haired Ace girl remarked in a concerned tone.

The Queen of Pain chuckled a bit, then threw a playful punch into the side of Astrid's arm. "Astrid," Ronnie Anne began in a mildly amused tone, "When have I ever not known what I was doing?"

The eleven-year-old Ace girl gave her bestie a dry, monotonous look. "…Do you really want me to answer that?" Astrid asked.

"Pfft," the Hispanic tomboy snorted as she held back a laugh. Giving her friend a playful shove, Ronnie Anne continued, "Shut up!" The two girls proceeded to share a laugh that lasted for a few seconds. When that ended, Ronnie Anne pulled out her phone as she felt it go off. Seeing a text from Bobby saying that it was dinnertime, Ronnie Anne told Astrid that she had to get going. The white-haired Ace girl understood, and said that they would see each other later.

END, ACE OBSERVATIONS CHAPTER TEN

Author's notes:

In case it wasn't clear, this chapter takes place during the events of ch33 of Syngenesophobia, filling in a few blanks set during the school hours that are shown, as well as a good part of the Saturday during which Lincoln has that sit-down with Lynn and the good doctor. I wanted to add a bit of humor here, but I only made them bit parts at best, lest I let the humor factor overwhelm the overall atmosphere of the chapter. As I've said before, 'Syngenesophobia' is the work of That Engineer, so all credit for his story should go to him.


End file.
